On April 16th, according to The Verge, Apple’s launch of the MacBook Neo, priced at $599 (and $499 for students), has caused a significant impact on the PC market. Microsoft quickly responded with its “Microsoft College Offer” promotion for students in the US.
This program bundles discounted Windows 11 PCs with service subscriptions and offers 12 months of free Microsoft 365 Premium and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are all participating. Microsoft also launched this promotion shortly after raising the prices of its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop.
In terms of distribution channels, Best Buy is selling the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x for $499.99, featuring 16GB of RAM, a Snapdragon X processor, and 256GB of storage; Walmart is offering the HP 16-inch OmniBook 3 with similar specifications for $429. Amazon and brand websites are also offering similar deals.
In addition, students can customize an Xbox controller for free through the Xbox Design Lab. However, the free Microsoft 365 Premium and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions are only available to new users; existing subscribers need a new Microsoft account.
This promotion is reportedly running from now until June 30th or until stock runs out.
Compared to the usual summer back-to-school sales, Microsoft’s move is significantly earlier than usual, seen as a direct response to the MacBook Neo and Apple’s student discount strategies. The report suggests that the launch of the MacBook Neo may also positively stimulate the Windows ecosystem, as Microsoft announced a series of important updates to Windows 11 shortly after the product’s release.
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