Apple says Developer Transition Kit must be returned by March 31

Apple in an email sent out on Friday requested developers who took part in the Universal App Quick Start Program to return the accompanying Developer Transition Kit, a custom A12Z Bionic-powered Mac mini designed to prepare app makers for Apple Silicon Macs.

According to the letter, program participants have until March 31, 2021, to return the loaned DTK to Apple.

"Now that the new MacBook Air, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro powered by the Apple M1 chip are available, you'll need to return the Developer Transition Kit (DTK) that was loaned to you as part of the program. Please follow the instructions below to return the DTK, at no cost to you," Apple says in a post to its dedicated Universal App Quick Start Program website.

Developer Steve Troughton-Smith, who lives in Europe, notes carrier DHL will begin to collect the devices in his region without prior warning starting March 8. That stands in contrast to U.S. protocols, which simply require developers to print out a prepaid shipping label and send the unit out via UPS.

Apple in the email reminds program members of a $500 one-time-use promo code that can be used toward the online purchase of a new M1 Mac or other Apple products. The code is not applicable to Apple Gift Cards and AppleCare+, the company says.

The company in early February notified members that it would soon request the return of DTK hardware. At the time, Apple said it would offer a $200 promotional code for the purchase of a 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or Mac mini equipped with an M1 chip, but later bumped that sum up to $500 — the cost of a DTK lease — after developers expressed disapproval of the original plan. Troughton-Smith says Apple is converting the $500 figure to local currency, a move that for some equates to a more than 100 euro loss.

Fitted with an A12Z, the Mac mini was equipped with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, two USB-C ports, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet, trappings designed to mimic the first M1 Mac computers. It came loaded with a beta version of macOS Big Sur and Xcode 12.

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21 Comments

chadbag 2026 comments · 13 Years

About 3 years ago

The conversion of the $500 credit to local currency does not equate to a 100 euro “loss”. That 100 euros allowed them access to the DTK machine for many months, allowing them to get their apps ready. That covers the lease of the machine and is not a “loss”.

commentzilla 769 comments · 10 Years

chadbag said:

The conversion of the $500 credit to local currency does not equate to a 100 euro “loss”. That 100 euros allowed them access to the DTK machine for many months, allowing them to get their apps ready. That covers the lease of the machine and is not a “loss”.

I think they meant it's a 100 Euro loss in comparison to those who receive the promotion in dollars. I'm not sure if it has to do with the exchange rate or the initial purchase price difference in Eruos.

Anilu_777 577 comments · 8 Years

That makes no sense. When you convert $500 to Euros it’s a straight conversion. No loss

mpantone 2245 comments · 18 Years

The quoted hyperlink to Troughton-Smith's Twitter post above is dead. The post no longer exists.

There is something fishy about this.

Anilu_777 said:

That makes no sense. When you convert $500 to Euros it’s a straight conversion. No loss

The rate is constantly in flux and the dollar has lost value since the kits were purchased last summer. So the refund is worth less to European developers than to US developers because of the exchange rate alone. I wish they had given the full calculation of how they arrived at that 100+ euro amount but the issue here is the disparity of the refund based on the difference in the purchase price and the refund in local currency.