Since the release of Dorico for iPad three years ago, we have been delighted to welcome tens of thousands of new Dorico users, downloading the app for free from the App Store. The app is consistently the top-rated music notation and composition app in the App Store, and it is a vital member of the Dorico product family. However, the fact that the app is free and offers access to premium features through optional subscriptions or the Lifetime Unlock in-app purchase causes problems for our educational customers, and we are pleased to share some news on this front today.
Apple School Manager
Most educational institutions that have multiple iPads are using a mobile device management (MDM) solution of some kind to remotely manage their iPads, allowing them to keep the devices secure, run updates, deploy apps automatically, and so on. An important component of this device management solution is Apple School Manager, which allows IT administrators to purchase apps in volume and then deploy them automatically to all the managed iPads. However, one limitation of Apple School Manager is that it does not support in-app purchases or subscriptions. This means that our educational customers can deploy Dorico for iPad, but they can only access the free features of the app.
Introducing Dorico for Education
To allow educational customers to access the full feature set of Dorico for iPad, we have introduced a new version of the app called Dorico for Education. This app provides exactly the same functionality as Dorico for iPad, but with the premium features that normally require an optional subscription or the Lifetime Unlock in-app purchase all available from the moment the app is installed. As such, Dorico for Education is not free: it is priced at $119.99 US (or equivalent in Apple’s local App Store pricing).
Like all apps available in Apple School Manager, Dorico for Education is eligible for volume pricing: if you buy Dorico for Education in a quantity of 20 or more units, the price is reduced by 50%. To find Dorico for Education, go to the Apps and Books section of Apple School Manager, and search for the app there.
Who should buy Dorico for Education
If you search for Dorico in the App Store, you may now find both the free Dorico app, and the paid Dorico for Education app. Since the App Store does not provide a mechanism to list apps only in Apple School Manager, Dorico for Education is available for anybody to buy. However, if you are not buying on behalf of an educational institution, and you are not using Apple School Manager, we recommend that you install the free Dorico app.
We will update Dorico for iPad and Dorico for Education at the same time, with the same features and improvements, and the same features will be present in both apps: the features of Dorico for Education will be the same as the features of Dorico for iPad with the premium features unlocked.
We hope our educational users will enjoy being able to easily access everything that Dorico for Education has to offer!