From Apple Asks Developers to Return DTK Mac Minis in Exchange for $200 Credit Toward M1 Mac — MacRumors, written by Juli Clover:

Ahead of the release of the M1 Macs, Apple provided developers with a Developer Transition Kit that included a Mac mini equipped with an A12Z Bionic chip first used in the iPad Pro, 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD, two USB‑C ports, two USB‑A ports, and an HDMI 2.0 port.

These DTKs were offered up on a temporary basis to developers who paid $500 for access, and were aimed at giving developers a way to create Universal apps to prepare for the transition from Intel processors to Apple silicon chips.

Apple is now asking developers to return their Developer Transition Kits in exchange for a one-time use code that will provide a $200 discount on an M1 Mac.

Apple first sent out Developer Transition Kits at the end of June, so developers have had them on hand for the last seven months. Developers were meant to have a year with the DTK for app development purposes, but other benefits that include a private discussion forum and technical support will continue to be available for the full 12 month period.

Some developers are unhappy with Apple’s compensation given the initial $500 price of the DTK program and the bugs that were experienced that made using the DTK difficult. The last time Apple had a similar program for the transition from PowerPC to Intel chips, Apple provided developers with the first Intel-based Mac for free.

Sorry for essentially quoting the entirety of the article, but it’s a good summary of the whole situation.

Dave Mark, at The Loop, writes:

One wrinkle: The $200 expires at the end of May. Presumably, WWDC will be virtual again and will occur in June. And if new Macs are announced at WWDC, this means the $200 will not be usable for those Macs. Some developers are notably unhappy.

All in all, I think Apple could have avoided this PR bruise if they would have clearly laid out the specifics when they released the DTK in the first place. You pay us $500, we’ll give you a $200 credit that expires at the end of May when you return the box. As is, I got the sense that people were expecting Apple to send everyone an M1 Mac. An unfair expectation, true, but Apple could have controlled this from the beginning.

“An unfair expectation”? I don’t think so. I think if there’s a miser here, it’s Apple.

As I wrote on Twitter, here’s what I would have done:

• Every developer who purchased (rather, rented) a DTK would receive an M1 Mac mini upon returning the development machine.
• Those developers wanting to purchase a different Apple Silicon Mac would receive a $699 store credit instead (the equivalent of an entry-level M1 Mac mini).

Or, to streamline the process, just offer a $699 discount instead of that stingy $200. It’s a matter of respecting your developers, who are the people helping all of your platforms thrive. Considering that Apple reported an all-time record revenue of $111.4 billion for last quarter, and considering that Apple’s relationship with their developers hasn’t been exactly great in the past several months, keeping developers happy by being a bit more understanding and gentlemanly is the least Apple can do in this situation.

If you think I’m exaggerating or demanding too much from Apple, here’s what Apple did in 2005–2006 during the previous transition from PowerPC to Intel:

• Contrary to what MacRumors reported, the Apple Transition Kit Pentium machine Apple offered to developers in June 2005 wasn’t free, it cost $999.
• But developers could keep it until the end of 2006 (18 months), and when they returned it Apple provided them with a 17-inch Intel iMac, which at the time retailed for $1,299.

And this was 2005 Apple; which, while already very wealthy, certainly didn’t have the amount of money they have today. Their avarice and tone-deafness on this matter is staggering to me.

The condition that developers have to use the $200 discount code before the end of May is another sour ingredient of this shit sandwich. I was trying to put myself in a developer’s shoes, and think about the implications, but Michael Tsai has already provided such scenario:

The main issues for me are:

• I want to apply the $200 credit towards [an Apple Silicon] 16-inch MacBook Pro or iMac, neither of which has been announced yet. And Apple, surprisingly, requires that the credit be spent by the end of May, i.e. before any WWDC product announcements.
• The May expiration also means that, unless I want to buy two Macs, there will probably be several weeks when I have no ARM Mac for testing. I don’t get the credit until Apple receives and processes the DTK, and then I have to wait for the M1 Mac to ship. Currently, it takes about 2 weeks for a new M1 MacBook Air to be delivered.

I had been hoping to keep my DTK for the full year, until I could replace it with the actual M1 Mac that I plan to use. But it looks as though I’ll need to buy a temporary M1 Mac just to maintain the ability to test Apple Silicon apps. Others have already bought an M1 Mac and won’t be able to use the credit unless they buy another.

I’m frankly appalled by those who side with Apple on this matter, saying that developers are essentially being cheapskates or demanding too much here. User ‘Rhino Rebellion’ on Twitter told me: Many, if not all, of the DTKs started acting-up after 3/4 months use. Random reboots meant it was unusable for the intended purpose. Apple Support refused to replace mine with a working unit. For me it was a waste of money, during exceptionally difficult times. Is this person demanding too much or having unfair expectations? I don’t think so.

My understanding of economics is extremely basic, but really, by being more magnanimous, Apple would have virtually nothing to lose in this particular transaction:

• If Apple chose to give developers a $500 discount, for instance, Apple would literally lose nothing, because developers gave that amount of money as a deposit in the first place. (*)
• If Apple chose to give developers a discount equal to the value of a Mac mini, whatever Apple would ‘lose’ from a financial standpoint, the company would gain in image and public relations.

Instead, by offering a meagre discount — with conditions, too — what Apple’s communicating here is that every opportunity is good to make money. Even with people who are indirectly already helping you make money. It feels very Uncle Scrooge, it feels gross. There, I said it.

(*) Update — It seems Apple changed their decision and opted to do just that: Apple Ups DTK Mac Mini Return Credit to $500 After Developer Complaints. It’s always kind of amusing to witness the same story over and over: Apple does something shitty, there’s backlash, Apple course-corrects. All major App Store fiascos have followed this pattern, for example. Anyway, I’m not really going to praise Apple for this, because frankly it’s the least they can do. Just before learning about this news update, I was talking with a friend who’s not really into tech, and his reaction was: “You’re telling me Apple asked $500 as a deposit for these units, and now they’re not even returning the full sum as developers return the hardware!? I’d never want Apple as my landlord!” Indeed.