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Developer Transition Kit
The Developer Transition Kit is the name of two prototype Mac computers made available to software developers by Apple Inc. The first Developer Transition Kit was made available in 2005 prior to the Mac transition to Intel processors to aid in the Mac's transition from PowerPC to an Intel-based x86-64 architecture. A second Developer Transition Kit was made available in 2020 prior to the Mac transition to Apple silicon as part of its initiative to transition the Mac away from Intel to Apple's ARM64-based Apple silicon.
During Apple's 2005–2006 transition from PowerPC to Intel processors, the company made available the first Developer Transition Kit (DTK), a prototype Intel-based Mac computer for developers.
During Apple's 2005 Worldwide Developers Conference, then-CEO Steve Jobs emphasized the non-commercial nature of the prototype hardware: "This is a development platform only. This is not a product; this will never be shipped as a product. It's just for you guys to get started in development. You actually have to return them by the end of 2006. We don't want them floating around out there. These are not products."
The computer identified itself as "Apple Development Platform" (ADP2,1), and consisted of a 3.6 GHz Intel Pentium 4 Prescott 2M 660 processor, 1 GB DDR2 RAM, 160 GB SATA hard disk drive, and optical disk drive in a Power Mac G5 case slightly modified with an altered cooling system. Connectivity included USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and Gigabit Ethernet. Software included Xcode 2.1 and a version of Mac OS X 10.4.1 which runs on Intel's x86 architecture.
The Intel DTK was available to software developers on a loan basis, and Apple required developers to return the prototype computers to the company within a week of December 31, 2006. Apple required developers to be a Select or Premier Apple Developer Connect (ADC) member, with memberships starting at US$499 per year and additional requirement to pay US$999 to receive an Intel DTK. Apple then offered developers a free Intel-based iMac in exchange for sending back the DTK. The Intel DTK would be directly succeeded by the first-generation Mac Pro.
At the Worldwide Developers Conference, on June 22, 2020, Apple announced another Developer Transition Kit intended to assist software developers during the transition of the Mac platform to the ARM architecture. Described informally as "an iPad in a Mac mini's body," the DTK carries a model number of A2330 and identifies itself as "Apple Development Platform." It consisted of an A12Z processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, and a variety of common I/O ports (USB-C, USB-A, HDMI 2.0, and Gigabit Ethernet) in a Mac mini case. Support for wireless communication based upon Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and Bluetooth 5.0 was included, while Thunderbolt 3 support, built-in to every Mac commercially available as of June 2020, was not included. It eventually appeared in the first three models of Apple silicon Macs, operating in Thunderbolt 3/USB4 mode. The DTK came preloaded with beta versions of macOS 11 Big Sur. The A12Z DTK would be directly succeeded by the 2020 Mac mini with the M1 chip.
In an interview shortly after the introduction of the DTK, Apple's SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi praised the DTK's performance and contributed to expectations of superlative performance of forthcoming commercial products based upon Apple silicon custom-engineered for the Macintosh platform: "Even that DTK hardware, which is running on an existing iPad chip that we don't intend to put in a Mac in the future – it's just there for the transition – the Mac runs awfully nice on that system. It's not a basis on which to judge future Macs ... but it gives you a sense of what our silicon team can do when they're not even trying – and they're going to be trying." A-series processors would not be used inside a Mac again until the release of the MacBook Neo in 2026.
To receive a DTK, developers were required to sign up for a one year membership to Apple's Universal App Quick Start Program at a cost of US$500. The membership included several benefits such as code-level technical support, access to one-on-one labs with Apple engineers, and a license to use a loaned DTK.
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Developer Transition Kit
The Developer Transition Kit is the name of two prototype Mac computers made available to software developers by Apple Inc. The first Developer Transition Kit was made available in 2005 prior to the Mac transition to Intel processors to aid in the Mac's transition from PowerPC to an Intel-based x86-64 architecture. A second Developer Transition Kit was made available in 2020 prior to the Mac transition to Apple silicon as part of its initiative to transition the Mac away from Intel to Apple's ARM64-based Apple silicon.
During Apple's 2005–2006 transition from PowerPC to Intel processors, the company made available the first Developer Transition Kit (DTK), a prototype Intel-based Mac computer for developers.
During Apple's 2005 Worldwide Developers Conference, then-CEO Steve Jobs emphasized the non-commercial nature of the prototype hardware: "This is a development platform only. This is not a product; this will never be shipped as a product. It's just for you guys to get started in development. You actually have to return them by the end of 2006. We don't want them floating around out there. These are not products."
The computer identified itself as "Apple Development Platform" (ADP2,1), and consisted of a 3.6 GHz Intel Pentium 4 Prescott 2M 660 processor, 1 GB DDR2 RAM, 160 GB SATA hard disk drive, and optical disk drive in a Power Mac G5 case slightly modified with an altered cooling system. Connectivity included USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and Gigabit Ethernet. Software included Xcode 2.1 and a version of Mac OS X 10.4.1 which runs on Intel's x86 architecture.
The Intel DTK was available to software developers on a loan basis, and Apple required developers to return the prototype computers to the company within a week of December 31, 2006. Apple required developers to be a Select or Premier Apple Developer Connect (ADC) member, with memberships starting at US$499 per year and additional requirement to pay US$999 to receive an Intel DTK. Apple then offered developers a free Intel-based iMac in exchange for sending back the DTK. The Intel DTK would be directly succeeded by the first-generation Mac Pro.
At the Worldwide Developers Conference, on June 22, 2020, Apple announced another Developer Transition Kit intended to assist software developers during the transition of the Mac platform to the ARM architecture. Described informally as "an iPad in a Mac mini's body," the DTK carries a model number of A2330 and identifies itself as "Apple Development Platform." It consisted of an A12Z processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, and a variety of common I/O ports (USB-C, USB-A, HDMI 2.0, and Gigabit Ethernet) in a Mac mini case. Support for wireless communication based upon Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and Bluetooth 5.0 was included, while Thunderbolt 3 support, built-in to every Mac commercially available as of June 2020, was not included. It eventually appeared in the first three models of Apple silicon Macs, operating in Thunderbolt 3/USB4 mode. The DTK came preloaded with beta versions of macOS 11 Big Sur. The A12Z DTK would be directly succeeded by the 2020 Mac mini with the M1 chip.
In an interview shortly after the introduction of the DTK, Apple's SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi praised the DTK's performance and contributed to expectations of superlative performance of forthcoming commercial products based upon Apple silicon custom-engineered for the Macintosh platform: "Even that DTK hardware, which is running on an existing iPad chip that we don't intend to put in a Mac in the future – it's just there for the transition – the Mac runs awfully nice on that system. It's not a basis on which to judge future Macs ... but it gives you a sense of what our silicon team can do when they're not even trying – and they're going to be trying." A-series processors would not be used inside a Mac again until the release of the MacBook Neo in 2026.
To receive a DTK, developers were required to sign up for a one year membership to Apple's Universal App Quick Start Program at a cost of US$500. The membership included several benefits such as code-level technical support, access to one-on-one labs with Apple engineers, and a license to use a loaned DTK.