According to his Linus Gabriel Sebastian, the man behind the behemoth of a YouTube channel that is Linus Tech Tips, somehow came to be in possession of one of Apple’s Developer Transition Kits without actually having a professional relationship of any kind with the tech giant.
For those wondering, we cannot break an NDA that we didn't sign.
We have zero relationship with Apple and no hopes of ever having one, so while I appreciate your concern, there's really nothing for us to lose at this point.
Expect benchmarks, tear-down, etc. – LS
— Linus Tech Tips (@LinusTech) October 2, 2020
Apple released the Developer Transition Kit (or DTK) soon after they announced they’d be switching over to proprietary Apple chipsets for all of their Macs. The device was intended to help developers optimize their apps for the upcoming Macs with Apple processors instead of the usual Intel ones.
The DTK is the first Mac computer to tout Apple’s own silicon under the hood, so Apple was naturally quite secretive with it. The company went as far as to make developers who bought the DTKs sign NDAs, and developers who leaked benchmarks of the device received significant backlash.
With the kit in his possession, Linus promptly envisioned dreams of bench-marking it, tearing it down, and basically taking it out for a thorough spin. The YouTuber would soon have the rug pulled out from underneath him, however, as Apple, obviously not comfortable with his plans, got in touch with him.
You'll never guess who finally reached out after all these years of pretending we don't exist.
If you don't see any follow-ups, they either sent the lawyers or the death squad 🤣🤣 – LS
— Linus Tech Tips (@LinusTech) October 2, 2020
Apple, one of the biggest tech companies in the world, had never before been in official contact with Linus Tech Tips, arguably the biggest tech YouTube channel in the world. However, they made contact to sort this matter out and prevent proprietary information from being shared publicly.
Before speaking with Apple I've decided to proactively send the Developer Transition Kit back to the party we obtained it from (no idea if that's the actual developer who leased it).
This seems like the best way to ensure our source stays protected.
— Linus LinusMediaGroup (@linusgsebastian) October 2, 2020
While the world would have absolutely loved to see what exactly the Developer Transition Kit’s mundane and monotonous exterior held inside, Linus ended up giving the device back to his source — fully intact — in order to preserve their anonymity and their standing with Apple.
