When Apple unveiled the MacBook Neo earlier this year, students everywhere cheered, thanks to its relatively affordable price tag. It’s practically made for those at university – it’s compact, light and powerful enough for late-night essay writing and streaming (when you should really be revising), while costing hundreds of pounds less than the MacBook Air.
Typically setting you back £699, Apple’s MacBook Neo is the cheapest MacBook the tech giant’s ever made, but I’ve spotted a deal at Very to make it even cheaper. The retailer is currently offering up to £850 when you trade in your old tech, meaning the maximum trade-in value could cover the entire cost of the entry-level MacBook Neo and more.
If you’d prefer to take lecture notes on a snazzy iPad, complete with an Apple Pencil or Magic Keyboard, there are more Apple tech deals. To help you prepare for the new university term, I’ve rounded up the best Apple tech for students, with trade-in deals that could save you hundreds of pounds.
Best Apple tech for students
Apple MacBook Neo
Despite being Apple’s most affordable MacBook, the Neo doesn’t run at a crawl. It features a large 13in display, a very capable A18 Pro chip, 8GB of RAM and up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge. Weighing just 1.23kg, it’s handy for lugging between lectures, too.
Tech critic David Phelan described the laptop as “a dream to use” in his MacBook Neo review. “For everyday programs, it’s fast and effective, whether you’re typing emails, surfing the web, watching butter-smooth video playback or playing music,” he added. David also praised the Neo’s premium build quality and long battery life, adding that “for a general-use machine, this laptop is highly accomplished”.
The MacBook Neo starts from £699, but trading in your old tech could bring that price down by hundreds of pounds. The retailer is currently offering up to £850 in trade-in value, meaning the maximum amount could cover the cost of the entry-level MacBook Neo entirely.
Apple iPad, 11th-generation
If you’d rather leave your laptop at home, opting for Apple’s affordable entry-level iPad could be a nice alternative for lectures. It boasts a bright 11in Liquid Retina display, Apple’s speedy A16 chip and 128GB of storage.
In my review of the 11th-gen iPad, I found that whether I was watching Netflix or Apple TV, playing games, or writing notes, the performance was buttery smooth. Even the new multitasking features didn’t cause it to lag. Unless you’re working on 4K video projects or heavy creative tasks, the regular iPad is super speedy, capable and never feels like it's struggling.
The 11th-generation iPad starts from £429, but you can get money towards it by trading in your old tablet. Very is currently offering between £74 and £580 when you trade in an eligible iPad.
I’d also recommend buying an Apple Pencil if you prefer to write by hand, or the Magic Keyboard Folio if you’d rather type your notes.
iPhone 17 Pro
If you’re looking for a new phone, Very has currently slashed £100 off the flagship iPhone 17 Pro – including the orange colourway.
The iPhone 17 Pro is Apple’s best iPhone yet, boasting the powerful A19 Pro chip for AI features; a bright and beautiful 6.3in ProMotion display; and three 48MP cameras on the rear. Apple has even redesigned the phone with an aluminium unibody, with the vapour chamber on the inside helping to keep it cool.
“In everyday usage, this phone’s performance is pitch-perfect, with nothing slowing it down,” said tech critic David Phelan in his review of the iPhone 17 Pro. He was similarly impressed by the cameras, saying that photos looked “sharp, bright and natural”, and describing the ProMotion display as “spectacular”.
The iPhone 17 Pro usually starts at £1,099, but Very has slashed a huge £100 off the 256GB model, bringing it down to just £999.
Read more: The best laptops, reviewed by tech experts
