Apple sends out $500 promo codes for returned DTK units

sdietric said:

Is there any question that this was not leased equipment? The article says Apple deems this “leased” equipment. I am sure it should be abundantly clear with the contract developers signed when they received the hard if it is or not leased.

Maybe so. Though, when Apple transitions to Intel, the developers who returned their DTK got a return with coupons and spiffs greater than what the paid for the DTK. And the terms back then were far more general, 1 1/2 years to get the computer you wanted as opposed to buy from the current line up.  I am pretty sure that was at least part of the basis of the uproar.

sdietric said:

Is there any question that this was not leased equipment? The article says Apple deems this “leased” equipment. I am sure it should be abundantly clear with the contract developers signed when they received the hard if it is or not leased.

It was announced and written in every possible location, even the relatively short press release still went to some detail to highlight that the kit must be returned.

Quick Start Program Lets Developers Get Started Today
Apple Developer Program members can start moving their apps to Apple silicon today by applying for the Universal App Quick Start Program. The program provides access to documentation, forums support, beta versions of macOS Big Sur and Xcode 12, and includes the limited use of a DTK, which will enable developers to build and test their Universal 2 apps. The DTK, which must be returned to Apple at the end of the program, consists of a Mac mini with Apple’s A12Z Bionic SoC inside and desktop specs, including 16GB of memory, a 512GB SSD, and a variety of Mac I/O ports. Developers can apply to the program at developer.apple.com, and the total cost of the program is $500.

$500 for the total program, including loan hardware, is pretty reasonable. The cheapest M1 mac is well above $500, so the idea that they'd get early access, support and hardware for less than that was never a reasonable conclusion. The idea that Apple engineers should be available for free, that they should get some sort of prize for optionally participating and effectively a full refund is also not reasonable - but it's where we are now, not because it's right but because squeaky wheels get the oil. The entitlement on display in various developer forums was sickening. It read more like hobbyists who wanted early access to a new toy rather than professional developers who would have found real value in that offer - it wasn't surprising that the complaints were driven from developers of no merit.

There was also a lingering argument that the developers were doing Apple a favour by being the "guinea pig" for the beta SDK. That argument might apply if this was Apple's first time delivering a SDK, the maturity of the SDK was never in question. I agree that there is a symbiotic relationship between the two, but that doesn't justify the b/s that went on.

sdietric said:

Is there any question that this was not leased equipment? The article says Apple deems this “leased” equipment. I am sure it should be abundantly clear with the contract developers signed when they received the hard if it is or not leased.

There was absolutely no ambiguity. It was stated in multiple places that the equipment must be returned to Apple. You would have to be blind or deliberately obtuse to miss it.

16 years ago was a much different time.  Not one developer complained about the $999 Intel DTK, which was a Power Mac G5 chassis with a Pentium 4 CPU.  When developers returned that DTK, per the contract, Apple provided them with an Intel iMac as a thank you.  Now you have a bunch of whiney millennials demanding their money back when they knew by signing the contract that the A12Z DTK was to be returned at the end of the period.  No one forced them to lease it.  They could have waited until the first M1 Macs arrived, pay more for one of those (owning it), update their software, and risk losing customers by being late with their app.  Now they all want something for free because they think they are entitled.