Apple Inc has announced its back to school deals in New Zealand and Australia with free gift cards for education customers who will be buying a new iPhone, iPad or a new Mac. The free gift cards can be used in Apple's digital content stores like the App Store, iBookstore, iTunes Store and the Mac App Store.

Apple has always offered annual back to school promos and times them to match different school calendars around the world.

Customers in New Zealand and Australia can buy a new Mac and get a free gift card worth AU$100 or NZ$125. For education customers looking to buy a new iPhone or iPad, they will get a free AU$50 or NZ$65 gift card.

Apple's free gift cards before school starts in New Zealand and Australia comes on top of the company's special prices for education customers. Prices are reduced to as much as several hundred dollars which translates to big savings for the end users.

Those who are eligible for Apple's back to school promo are faculty and staff of K-12 and higher education students. Students who come from higher education institutions and their parents are also included in the promo.

Apple Inc's Back to School deals will run in Australia and New Zealand through March 20. To get free Apple gift cards, education customers must buy directly from Apple via its online store. Customers in Australia may purchase from Apple retail stores during the promo period.

The largest Back to School promo is usually offered in North America and Europe between July and September.

iPhone 5S grabs 59% share in U.S. sales

According to a report by research firm CIRP, Apple's iPhone 5S has grabbed the biggest share in sales in the U.S. market. The availability of the iPhone 5S has convinced buyers to stay away from the lower-priced iPhone 5C and 4S.

On Jan. 14, CIRP reported that the iPhone 5S took the largest share of iPhone sales at 59 per cent in the last quarter of 2013. The iPhone 5C comprised 27 per cent of sales while the iPhone 4S had 14 per cent.

Apple's iPhone sales data in the last quarter of 2012 revealed that the iPhone 5 had 50 per cent of sales, iPhone 4S with 32 per cent and the iPhone 4 with 18 per cent.

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