A Texas school district is going all-in on the iPad and MacBook Neo as part of a new $11 million deal. The Beaumont Independent School District is ditching its Chromebook fleet and opting for Apple gear going forward, citing better reliability, lower costs, and performance.
As reported by the Beaumont Enterprise this week, the Beaumont Independent School District’s board has approved an $11.19 million four-year lease to upgrade its technology ecosystem.
As part of the deal, the school district will provide 14,585 Apple devices to teachers and students from pre-K through 12th grade. The new Apple gear will replace an aging collection of Chromebooks, many purchased more than five years ago. The district was spending nearly half a million dollars on repairs and support for that Chromebook fleet.
The new initiative includes more than 4,000 iPads for students pre-K through second grade and 9,500 MacBook Neo units for third through 12th grade students. The district also allocated 1,000 MacBook Neo devices for teachers.
The district compared the MacBook Neo to products from Lenovo and Asus and ultimately concluded the MacBook Neo had the “strongest performance and reliability among the devices evaluated.” Apple’s financing terms were also more favorable. Access to AppleCare also influenced the decision.
From the report:
According to the district’s comparison, the Lenovo model had a minimum financing rate of 4%, a higher four-year cost and a guaranteed buyback value of $10 per device. The Asus model had competitive upfront pricing and met instructional needs but also cost more over four years. The district said the Asus model’s plastic parts would require more repairs.
You can read the full report on the Beaumont Enterprise website.
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