Developers Begin Receiving Mac Mini With A12Z Chip to Prepare Apps for Apple Silicon Macs - GeekWebGuides
Skip to Content

Developers Begin Receiving Mac Mini With A12Z Chip to Prepare Apps for Apple Silicon Macs

As part of WWDC last week, Apple announced that it will be switching to its own custom-designed processors for Macs starting later this year. As part of this transition, the company is allowing developers to apply for a modified Mac mini with an A12Z chip and 16GB of RAM to develop and test their apps on a Mac with Arm-based architecture.

As noted on Twitter and in the GeekWebGuides forums, some developers are now beginning to receive this Mac mini, which is officially known as the "Developer Transition Kit."

mac mini developer transition kit photo

Image Credit: Axel Roest

Apple promises that its Macs with custom chips will have industry-leading performance per watt. Apple said it plans to ship the first Mac with its own silicon by the end of the year and complete the transition in about two years. One of the first Apple Silicon Macs will be a redesigned 24-inch iMac in late 2020, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple said that it will continue to support and release new versions of macOS for Intel-based Macs for years to come, and it also confirmed that it still has some new Intel-based Macs in development in the interim.


Popular Stories

skyrim

Skyrim Comes to Apple Silicon Macs With New Unofficial Installer

Tuesday October 20, 2026 7:56 pm PDT by
Bethesda's beloved role-playing game "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" has reached multiple generations of consoles since its 2011 debut, but it never officially came to the Mac. A new unofficial project called SkyrimMT now aims to make playing and modding it on Apple silicon Macs easier than ever. Mac owners have found ways to play Skyrim over the years, including installing Windows through...
iPhone Duo Trio

Here's What Apple's Apps Look Like on the iPhone Duo

Tuesday October 20, 2026 11:12 am PDT by
With just three days to go until the iPhone Duo is released, Apple is getting ready for the launch. Behind the scenes, the App Store now has screenshots of Apple's built-in apps running on the Duo. We've seen some apps in marketing materials, but images of the ones we haven't seen give us an idea of what it will be like using the iPhone Duo day to day. Many apps are shown in landscape...
Apple Creator Studio iWork suite

Apple Pulls Keynote, Pages and Numbers From App Store [Update: Back]

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:01 am PDT by
Apple has temporarily removed Keynote, Pages, and Numbers from the App Store, just after releasing an update that added iPhone Duo support and a new Intelligent Assistant. It is not clear if the apps were removed intentionally, or if it is a bug. Apple has not said when the apps will be reinstated, but if it was in error, they should return soon. Update: The Mac versions are back without...

Top Rated Comments

Chundles Avatar
83 months ago

Amazing results? It was at 1080p and looked horrible.
It was being translated on the fly by Rosetta 2. Wasn’t running natively. The fact that it ran at all is amazing.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cookie18 Avatar
83 months ago

Are the DTK supposed to be representative of low-end Macs, mid-level or high-end Macs? Just asking because in the Keynote they emulated Maya/Tomb Raider to amazing results (given that it is beta hardware/software).

People who did the DTK in 2005 may be able to shed light on how those machines were, for comparison.
They’re not supposed to be representative of anything. They’re for developers to convert their apps to Apple Silicon Mac OS. The chips inside of these are two years old at this point. Whatever we end up getting will be significantly more powerful. This isn’t even close to what we will actually be buying.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GadgetBen Avatar
83 months ago

FYI Running benchmark tests on the DTK is forbidden by Apple and much more. ('https://developer.apple.com/terms/universal-app-quick-start-program/Developer-Universal-App-Quick-Start-Program.pdf')
Yeah but this isn't going to stop people.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WannaGoMac Avatar
83 months ago
All these negative comments about performance of a 2 year old CPU setup to port apps?? Are this many people negative or just ignorant? Feel free to be as negative as you want when the actual first computers come out, until then just chill the heck out.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
83 months ago

Given how fast the iPads are with only a few gigs of RAM, I'll be interested to hear how these minis perform with 16 gb.
FYI Running benchmark tests on the DTK is forbidden by Apple and much more. ('https://developer.apple.com/terms/universal-app-quick-start-program/Developer-Universal-App-Quick-Start-Program.pdf')
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tevion5 Avatar
83 months ago

Amazing results? It was at 1080p and looked horrible.
Guys people are really missing the point of that demo if that's what they're taking away from it.

What we saw was a relatively demanding x86 game running smoothly under Rosetta 2 on ARM hardware. Even if it's at 1080p and low settings that's fairly incredible. Anyone familiar with the PPC-Intel Rosetta will tell you binary conversion performance was nothing like that, especially regarding AAA 3D games at the time.

What you're basically doing is judging a French man by how spotty his German grammar is. The fact he speaks German fluently at all is impressive!

Wait until a high end Mac game is released that's actually compiled for the ARM chip before judgment. And then this is only an iPad CPU for the dev kit! We can expect a real ARM Macs to be a lot more powerful.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
iPhone Duo Demand Reportedly Exceeds Apple's Expectations
iPhone Duo Demand Reportedly Exceeds Apple's Expectations
20 minutes ago
iPhone Duo Launch Begins as First Orders Reach Customers
iPhone Duo Launch Begins as First Orders Reach Customers
7 hours ago
1Password for Agents Keeps Your Passwords Hidden From AI
1Password for Agents Keeps Your Passwords Hidden From AI
7 hours ago
iPhone Duo 24 Hours Later: Your Questions Answered
iPhone Duo 24 Hours Later: Your Questions Answered
8 hours ago
Apple's iWork Apps Get 'Intelligent Assistant' and iPhone Duo Support
Apple's iWork Apps Get 'Intelligent Assistant' and iPhone Duo Support
9 hours ago
Apple is Apparently Considering a Slightly Larger iPhone Duo
Apple is Apparently Considering a Slightly Larger iPhone Duo
9 hours ago
Giant iPhone Duo Displays Coming to Four Apple Stores
Giant iPhone Duo Displays Coming to Four Apple Stores
10 hours ago
Apple Pulls Keynote, Pages and Numbers From App Store [Update: Back]
Apple Pulls Keynote, Pages and Numbers From App Store [Update: Back]
11 hours ago
Apple Updates More Apps With iPhone Duo Support
Apple Updates More Apps With iPhone Duo Support
11 hours ago
Apple Will Label Apps 'Made for iPhone Duo' in App Store
Apple Will Label Apps 'Made for iPhone Duo' in App Store
14 hours ago
Amazon Takes $49 Off iPad With Prices Starting at $399.99
Amazon Takes $49 Off iPad With Prices Starting at $399.99
15 hours ago
F1 on Apple TV Now Available in Dolby Atmos
F1 on Apple TV Now Available in Dolby Atmos
15 hours ago
Apple Reveals More Than 50 Apps That Will Be Updated for iPhone Duo
Apple Reveals More Than 50 Apps That Will Be Updated for iPhone Duo
16 hours ago
Apple Blocks Certificates That Could Help Attackers Fake Websites
Apple Blocks Certificates That Could Help Attackers Fake Websites
17 hours ago
Giant iPhone Duo Installations Spotted at Apple Fifth Avenue
Giant iPhone Duo Installations Spotted at Apple Fifth Avenue
18 hours ago
iPhone Duo 2 Prototypes Include Under-Display Face ID
iPhone Duo 2 Prototypes Include Under-Display Face ID
18 hours ago
Tesla App Gains iPad and iPhone Duo Support
Tesla App Gains iPad and iPhone Duo Support
22 hours ago
Apple Reportedly Boosts iPhone Duo Orders by 44%
Apple Reportedly Boosts iPhone Duo Orders by 44%
22 hours ago
Fortnite Returning to Australian App Store After Court Ruling
Fortnite Returning to Australian App Store After Court Ruling
23 hours ago
Apple Ordered to Open iPhone to Rival App Stores in Australia
Apple Ordered to Open iPhone to Rival App Stores in Australia
23 hours ago
Apple Suppliers Face Hurdles Cutting Circuit Board Emissions
Apple Suppliers Face Hurdles Cutting Circuit Board Emissions
23 hours ago
Things Updated for iPhone Duo With Adaptive Layout
Things Updated for iPhone Duo With Adaptive Layout
1 day ago
Simplicity and Siri AI Are HomeView's Killer Features, Apple Says
Simplicity and Siri AI Are HomeView's Killer Features, Apple Says
1 day ago
iPhone Duo Reviewers Really Miss Face ID
iPhone Duo Reviewers Really Miss Face ID
1 day ago
Does the iPhone Duo Run Hot? Here's What Reviews Found
Does the iPhone Duo Run Hot? Here's What Reviews Found
1 day ago
Apple Music's New Look is Now Live on Apple's Website
Apple Music's New Look is Now Live on Apple's Website
1 day ago
Anthropic Launches Claude Duet, a Proactive AI Agent
Anthropic Launches Claude Duet, a Proactive AI Agent
1 day ago
What 32,000 Folds Did to the iPhone Duo's Hinge
What 32,000 Folds Did to the iPhone Duo's Hinge
1 day ago
iPhone Duo's Hidden FaceTime Camera Takes 'Trash' Photos
iPhone Duo's Hidden FaceTime Camera Takes 'Trash' Photos
1 day ago
iPhone Duo Has 'Edge Light' Feature That Debuted on Macs Last Year
iPhone Duo Has 'Edge Light' Feature That Debuted on Macs Last Year
1 day ago