The power and flexibility of iPad gives students the freedom to explore and express new ideas whenever and wherever inspiration strikes. Mac has the power to bring their biggest ideas to life. And built-in apps and intuitive software create an incredibly personal learning experience for each student — one that can be as unique as they are.

Feb 03, 2020  What Files Are Included in System Storage on Mac? During my research, I found many people report that Apple counts iTunes backup files and app caches (e.g. Adobe video cache files) in the System category. Since it’s greyed out and we are unable to click on that category for deeper analysis, we’ll have to use a third-party app to assist. ‎Learn about collection Safari Extensions featuring Instapaper Save, Save to Pocket, Ecosia, and many more on Mac App Store. Enjoy these apps on your Mac.

Read about the impact schools are reporting with iPad.
Download the iPad in Education Worldwide Results (PDF)
Learn about SRI Education’s research on the Apple and ConnectED Initiative

iPadThe perfect computer for learning looks nothing like a computer.

iPad is designed for complete freedom of expression and freedom of movement. With amazing apps and advanced built-in technologies, iPad can be anything students want it to be, and has the power to create anything students dream up. Yet it’s so intuitive, they can immediately take an idea and run with it.

For a more powerful and productive iPad.

Built on the same foundation as iOS, iPad has become a truly distinct experience. With powerful apps designed for the large Multi-Touch display. A redesigned Home Screen for information at a glance. New multitasking tools that let educators and students work exactly how they want with intuitive gestures. A desktop class browsing experience in Safari on iPad, so web apps work exactly as you're used to. And an updated Files app for powerful new ways to view, work on, and share files.

Loaded with advanced technology, but so easy to pick up.

Multi-TouchIt works the way kids think.

From the moment students pick up an iPad, they’re ready to make things happen by tapping, swiping, dragging, and dropping. Right away, they know how to move text, photos, and documents around like experts, whether they’re just learning how to spell or plotting trig functions. Multi-Touch is a profoundly immersive and responsive experience that gets students of all learning styles fully engaged in what they’re doing. And in what you’re teaching.

AccessibilityBuilt to make every student powerful.

Like all our products, iPad is designed with a wide range of features to empower students of all abilities. Including Speak Screen, which reads content aloud to those who can’t see it, or who learn better with audio reinforcement. VoiceOver, which can walk students through actions such as opening a document or selecting a menu item. Guided Access and Safari Reader help students stay focused. And now Voice Control opens up an intuitive new way to navigate iPadOS — using only your voice.

• Vision
• Hearing
• Physical & Motoring Skills
• Learning & Literacy

The power to do anything. And everything.

PerformanceDoes what you’d expect only a desktop could do.

As soon as you hand out an iPad, you’re putting incredible power in your students’ hands. They can edit a 4K video between classes. Build a 3D model of a steam engine. Or conduct a virtual orchestra to create the soundtrack for a presentation on classical music. And the new iPad with iPadOS makes all that work even faster than before.

ProductivityWork in more than one app. At once. Edit with the touch of a finger.

Learning doesn’t always happen one app at a time. iPad OS expands the versatility of iPad with new ways to multitask and work with apps in multiple windows. Students can write a book report in Pages while referencing the novel in Books, keeping both apps active in Split View. Or they can research the life cycle of butterflies in Safari while sketching the larval stage in Keynote. Slide Over keeps all the apps they need at the ready. They can use the Dock to pull up favorite and recently used apps and projects, and switch between them on the fly. Drag and Drop lets students easily move content from one app to another. And new intuitive gestures make easy work of editing your work — with just your fingers.

SafariWeb apps like you’re used to.

Browsing the internet on iPad is so immersive it’s like holding the web in your hands. And now, powerful new features make Safari on iPadOS a desktop-class browsing experience. Enjoy the desktop version of websites like Google Docs and WordPress on your iPad exactly as you’re used to. And the new Download Manager lets you see and manage your downloaded files.

Augmented reality.Teach them about the world. By changing how they see it.

Augmented reality on iPad can transform how students learn about and connect with the world around them. Turn your classroom into the cosmos. Make a history lesson as vivid as the present by restoring ancient artifacts. Or even peer inside everyday objects to understand how they’re put together. iPad is built to move, packed with advanced technologies like accelerometers, powerful cameras, and an operating system designed with AR specifically in mind. All together, it creates an experience that’s simply not possible on other platforms.

Sketch a thought, type out a verse, or capture a scene.

Apple PencilFor free-flowing notes, ideas, or masterpieces.

Though it feels familiar, Apple Pencil opens up an entirely new way to use iPad¹. It puts an incredible selection of tools and effects in a single instrument. And with iPadOS, Apple Pencil feels even more like writing on paper. So it’s perfect for taking notes, capturing observations on a field trip, shading detailed illustrations, marking up documents and web pages, and anything else students or teachers need to do.

Apple Pencil can be a pen, a paintbrush, a pastel stick, and more. And its sophisticated pressure and tilt sensors can achieve all the same subtle effects. Lightning-fast responsiveness creates a smooth and natural experience. So students can do everything from calligraphy to technical drawing, smudging to erasing, watercolor to oil painting — as if they were doing them all on real paper, but with capabilities that go far beyond the real thing.

Now it’s easy for students to write or draw right in any Pages, Numbers, or Keynote document. And teachers can instantly add their own notes to those documents, along with PDFs, photos, web pages, and more.

CamerasTake in the world.
In more ways than one.

On a single device, students can capture a moment, an inspiration, or a scene, and immediately start working with it. Whether that’s filming the science fair for the school website, or editing a documentary for a history project. And the FaceTime camera makes it easy to communicate and collaborate with others.

KeyboardsFor those who need to feel every keystroke and command.

The onscreen keyboard is always there for responding to email or taking a quick note. You can also use a physical keyboard¹ if you want one. And with iPadOS, there are more ways to use both however you want.

Designed to go wherever ideas lead.

DesignBuilt to move.
And to be handled.

iPad is incredibly thin and weighs just a pound, so it’s light enough to move about the classroom or take on any adventure outside school. And it’s as durable as it is portable, with an aluminum unibody construction to withstand true hands-on learning.

BatteryFrom homeroom straight through to homework.

With up to 10 hours of battery life², iPad lets kids be productive and creative throughout the school day. So they can go from doing their own field research, to drafting their final project, to handing it in — without having to stop to recharge.

Wi-FiUntethered creativity.

Super-fast 802.11ac Wi-Fi means students can stay connected to their assignments and projects, no matter which classroom they’re in. They can browse websites as soon as teachers share them, stream a video lecture uninterrupted, collaborate on documents, and hand in even the most media-rich projects instantly.

iCloud and FilesPlenty of space for students to think big.

iCloud safely stores all of a student’s documents and projects, keeping them up to date, secure, and accessible from any device. And any teacher or student with a Managed Apple ID gets 200GB of free iCloud storage.

iPadOS gives you powerful new ways to view and work on files. The Files app keeps all your work organized and easy to find in one place, whether its stored in the Cloud, on your iPad, or even a USB drive, so students can grab their files from anywhere. iPadOS lets you take quick actions like markup, and rotate files, and compress and uncompress ZIP archives.

The magic of iPad is that you can make it anything you need it to be.

With apps, iPad can be a laboratory, a movie studio, a time machine, even a spaceship. From free Apple-designed apps for doing and creating to the thousands of apps in the App Store designed specifically for learning, no matter the topic or the task at hand, there’s an app to make it even more engaging.

Built-in AppsReady to create.
From the word go.

iPad comes packed with a collection of apps designed by Apple to take full advantage of advanced technologies like the Multi-Touch display, Camera, and accelerometer. iMovie brings the power of moving images to storytelling. GarageBand lets any student be in a band, even if they’ve never played an instrument. And Pages can transform written reports into interactive, digital books complete with photos and illustrations.

Apps for EducationA world of apps for discovery, exploration, and creation.

The App Store has thousands more iPad apps from education software developers. Students can discover how their world is made by touching, stretching, and twisting molecules or make a digital virtual creation and add it to the real world environment with Augmented Reality. Apps and services like Google Docs, Google Drive, Microsoft Office, and Dropbox work great on iPad too.

• AR Makr
• Canvas Student
• GeoGebra 3D Calculator
• IXL
• Lexia Core5 Reading
• Minecraft Education Edition
• Molecules by Theodore Gray
• Plantale

Tools for TeachingApps that help you put the power of technology to work. In and out of class.

We’ve developed tools to make it easy for you to guide how your students use devices and apps in the classroom, and provide valuable insight into each student's progress. So you can focus on what’s most important: teaching.

More for TeachersInspiration to help you inspire.

We’ve designed programs to help teachers learn from one another, professional learning resources to build skills and confidence with iPad and Mac, and initiatives to recognize pioneers in education. All to empower you to be the best teacher you can be.

Testing and assessments.
iPad aces those too.

iPad and Mac are approved devices for administering secure exams. Both work with state online exams, including tests from the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and ACT Aspire. With Assessment Mode, assessment apps can automatically lock and configure iPad and Mac for testing, to prevent students from accessing other apps or features. There are also a range of formative learning apps that let you evaluate students’ long-term progress as they move toward statewide testing.

MacPower to make big things happen.

Mac has been empowering the world’s leading engineers, artists, scientists, designers, and musicians for decades. And it’s been doing the same for students too. Because it’s packed with power for their most ambitious ideas. High-performance graphics and processors, advanced storage and memory, and a breathtaking Retina display all come together to run pro-level apps for any passion.

Big on performance. Light in the backpack.

Retina DisplayFor more expansive forms of expression.

The high resolution Retina Display on Mac is great for students who need the extra screen space for big projects, and the clarity to fine tune even the smallest detail. That’s essential if they demonstrate an interest in things like graphic design, engineering, or video editing.

PerformanceDesktop power. Desk optional.

With high-performance processors, cutting-edge graphics, and super fast Flash storage, Mac has the power to create and move massive project files and simultaneously run multiple pro-level apps. And all that power is encased in an incredibly thin and light design, so students and teachers can get work done almost anywhere.

BatteryAll-day battery life.

Mac puts unprecedented performance into an impossibly thin design, yet still provides all-day battery life — up to 10 hours. So teachers and students are free to keep building, designing, developing, or composing, without being tethered to the closest outlet.

Keyboard and TrackpadFor extra precision.

The full-size backlit keyboard is incredibly comfortable and precise for writing and coding. Unlike other notebooks, the spacious Force Touch trackpad on a Mac lets you click anywhere. And it knows what you want it to do based on intuitive gestures like pinch-to-zoom and subtle differences in pressure.

Apps to get students started. And apps to take them further.

Every Mac comes with powerful apps for productivity and creativity built right in. The Mac App Store has thousands of additional apps designed specifically for education. And professional apps for everything from video editing to CAD illustration work beautifully on Mac.

Professional AppsTurn a passion project into a full‑on production.

Mac gives students more opportunities to grow professional skill sets. Apple-designed apps like Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X are great for video editors and musicians. And qualifying institutions can get them at a special price. For coders, there’s Xcode for building their very own apps. And third-party apps like Microsoft Office, Photoshop, and AutoCAD work beautifully on Mac too.

• Final Cut Pro X
• Logic Pro X
• Photoshop
• Microsoft Office 365
• AutoCAD

Built-in AppsReady to craft, calculate, communicate, or illustrate.

Every Mac comes ready to create with Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, GarageBand, and Photos. Book reports and term papers look stunning. Spreadsheets become canvasses for visualizing data. Students have a creative studio to explore and present any idea. And teachers have everything they need to craft creative assignments and beautiful materials.

• Pages
• Numbers
• Keynote
• iMovie
• Photos
• GarageBand

Thousands more options to explore.

The Mac App Store makes it simple to browse and discover thousands more apps from education software developers, so students and teachers can dive deeper into almost any subject.

Run with ideas across all devices.

Mac does a lot. And when students use it with other Apple devices, it does even more. They can snap a photo on their iPhone or start an idea on an iPad, and pick it up on a Mac to make it even richer. iCloud safely stores all their documents, apps, and projects, keeping them up to date, secure, and accessible from any authorized Apple device.

Apple TVIt makes big ideas huge.

When you connect Apple TV to your HDTV or projector, you introduce a new way of working together with your students. Take them through a lesson while freely moving about the classroom to provide individual support. Or encourage a student to share their work, which they can do instantly from their own iPad or Mac.

More for TeachersGreat teachers never stop learning. And we fully support that.

Apple Teacher

Apple Teacher is a free, self-paced professional learning program. Build skills on iPad and Mac that directly apply to activities with your students, and earn recognition for what you learn.

Teacher Resources

Get tutorials, lesson ideas, and join conversations with fellow teachers about how to use iPad and Mac to inspire creativity and enhance learning.

Privacy is built into everything we make.

Our business doesn’t rely on invading anyone’s privacy or monetizing their data. And we’re especially protective of the privacy of students using our products. Where they take iPad, the websites they visit, and the apps they use — that’s personal information. And we don’t want it. That’s why our education products, like Apple School Manager, Schoolwork, and Managed Apple IDs, have privacy features and controls built in. We don’t sell student information and we never share it with third parties. And we never track students or build profiles based on their email or web browsing.

Learn more about Data and Privacy for Schools

Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra and later* can save space by storing your content in iCloud and making it available on demand. When storage space is needed, files, photos, movies, email attachments, and other files that you seldom use are stored in iCloud automatically. Each file stays right where you last saved it, and downloads when you open it. Files that you’ve used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimized versions of your photos.

* If you haven't yet upgraded to macOS Sierra or later, learn about other ways to free up storage space.

Find out how much storage is available on your Mac

Choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, then click Storage. Each segment of the bar is an estimate of the storage space used by a category of files. Move your pointer over each segment for more detail.

Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below. This button is available only in macOS Sierra or later.

Manage storage on your Mac

The Storage Management window offers recommendations for optimizing your storage. If some recommendations are already turned on, you will see fewer recommendations.

Mac Apps To Study Storage Units

Store in iCloud

Click the Store in iCloud button, then choose from these options:

• Desktop and Documents. Store all files from these two locations in iCloud Drive. When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac, so that you can easily work offline. Files stored only in iCloud show a download icon , which you can double-click to download the original file. Learn more about this feature.
  
• Photos. Store all original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Photos. When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimized) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it.
  
• Messages. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud.

Storing files in iCloud uses the storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month, and you can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Learn more about prices in your region.

Optimize Storage

Click the Optimize button, then choose from these options.

• Automatically remove watched movies and TV shows. When storage space is needed, movies or TV shows that you purchased from the iTunes Store and already watched are removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a movie or TV show to download it again.
  
• Download only recent attachments. Mail automatically downloads only the attachments that you recently received. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.
  
• Don't automatically download attachments. Mail downloads an attachment only when you open the email or attachment, or save the attachment to your Mac.

Optimizing storage for movies, TV shows, and email attachments doesn't require iCloud storage space.

Empty Trash Automatically

Empty Trash Automatically permanently deletes files that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.

Reduce Clutter

Reduce Clutter helps you to identify large files and files you might no longer need. Click the Review Files button, then choose any of the file categories in the sidebar, such as Applications, Documents, Music Creation, or Trash.

You can delete the files in some categories directly from this window. Other categories show the total storage space used by the files in each app. You can then open the app and decide whether to delete files from within it.

Learn how to redownload apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books.

Where to find the settings for each feature

The button for each recommendation in the Storage Management window affects one or more settings in other apps. You can also control those settings directly within each app.

• If you're using macOS Catalina, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Apple ID, then select iCloud in the sidebar: Store in iCloud turns on the Optimize Mac Storage setting on the right. Then click Options next to iCloud Drive: Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders setting. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, deselect iCloud Drive.
  In macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Options next to iCloud Drive. Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimize Mac Storage settings.
• In Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud. Store in iCloud selects iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage.
• In Messages, choose Messages > Preferences, then click iMessage. Store in iCloud selects Enable Messages in iCloud.

• If you're using macOS Catalina, open the Apple TV app, choose TV > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Files. Optimize Storage selects “Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.”
  In macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes, choose iTunes > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Advanced. Optimize Storage selects “Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.”
• In Mail, choose Mail > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Accounts. In the Account Information section on the right, Optimize Storage sets the Download Attachments menu to either Recent or None.

Empty Trash Automatically: From the Finder, choose Finder > Preferences, then click Advanced. Empty Trash Automatically selects “Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.”

Other ways that macOS helps automatically save space

With macOS Sierra or later, your Mac automatically takes these additional steps to save storage space:

• Detects duplicate downloads in Safari, keeping only the most recent version of the download
• Reminds you to delete used app installers
• Removes old fonts, languages, and dictionaries that aren't being used
• Clears caches, logs, and other unnecessary data when storage space is needed

How to free up storage space manually

How To Free Up Storage On Mac

Even without using the Optimized Storage features of Sierra or later, you can take other steps to make more storage space available:

Mac Apps To Study Storage Unit

• Music, movies, and other media can use a lot of storage space. Learn how to delete music, movies, and TV shows from your device.
• Delete other files that you no longer need by moving them to the Trash, then emptying the Trash. The Downloads folder is good place to look for files that you might no longer need.
• Move files to an external storage device.
• Compress files.
• Delete unneeded email: In the Mail app, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail. If you no longer need the email in your Trash mailbox, choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items.

Learn more

• The Storage pane of About This Mac is the best way to determine the amount of storage space available on your Mac. Disk Utility and other apps might show storage categories such as Not Mounted, VM, Recovery, Other Volumes, Free, or Purgeable. Don't rely on these categories to understand how to free up storage space or how much storage space is available for your data.
• When you duplicate a file on an APFS-formatted volume, that file doesn't use additional storage space on the volume. Deleting a duplicate file frees up only the space required by any data you might have added to the duplicate. If you no longer need any copies of the file, you can recover all of the storage space by deleting both the duplicate and the original file.
• If you're using a pro app and Optimize Mac Storage, learn how to make sure that your projects are always on your Mac and able to access their files.