Canadians Can No Longer Fake Their Way Into Apple’s Education Discounts

Apple has quietly closed the door on its education discount honour system in Canada, the United States, and Chile. Going forward, students and staff will need to verify their academic status through UNiDAYS before they can access discounted pricing, according to a report by MacRumors.

Previously, Apple only ran occasional audits on education purchases. Now, anyone looking to use the Education Store will need to confirm their eligibility through the UNiDAYS app or website, typically by providing a valid school email address or a staff ID. Apple has also added a dedicated verification path for homeschool families for the first time, letting them submit identity documents and a letter of intent to gain access.

On the product side, Apple is expanding what you can actually buy at a discount. The Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra 3 are now available through the Education Store, giving eligible buyers up to 10% off on wearables for the first time.

The discounts apply to K-12 employees, higher education faculty and staff, currently enrolled post-secondary students, students who have been accepted but not yet started, and parents buying on behalf of a higher education student.

The verification requirement and the new Apple Watch discounts are also rolling out internationally, covering the UK, France, Germany, India, and Japan among other regions.

Well that was fun while it lasted, right? For the longest time Canadians were able to jump on these education discounts for Macs but those days are now over.