A touch of ClassKit

Apple's iOS 11.3 is still in the works, but one fascinating tidbit appeared in the latest beta release. There are references in the code ClassKit, a framework tailor-made to help developers create apps for schools. Sounds like the perfect thing to discuss at length inside a high school, no? While Apple is surely courting developers, we've heard a few things about one of Apple's own ClassKit-powered apps. According to 9to5Mac, teachers will be able to assign work to students through an app called Classwork, which kids can also use to log their progress. More broadly, apps built on top of ClassKit can be used to evaluate students and issue tests, not to mention lock down the iPad into a sort of "kiosk" mode to prevent kids from jumping into Safari and Googling for quiz answers.

A less expensive MacBook Air?

Right now, the cheapest new Mac you can buy is a $999 MacBook Air, and it's not exactly cutting-edge. It received a spec bump last summer, but still uses a relatively old processor and lower-res display. Reports from famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and elsewhere, however, point to the possibility of a MacBook Air with a "lower price tag" to launch sometime in the spring. A subsequent report from Bloomberg's Gurman confirmed Apple is indeed working on an Air sequel priced under $1,000. It's not hard to see how a machine like that might help Apple move more laptops into classrooms, but the price gap between a cheap Macbook and a Chromebook is still pretty huge. Word is the new Air won't be ready in time for an official reveal at next week's event, but it would make for a fantastic One More Thing. (Hear that, Apple?)