No they wouldn't. There really aren't enough devs around to make that statement true. Plus, if so many devs would do that, they can buy the 6-month-old refurbs at that time and do what they want. If they aren't doing that, then they wouldn't buy the machine you're imagining.
Devs may be small in number relative to the consumer market, but they're big in impact when it comes to building out an ecosystem. People complain about Linux on Desktop, but the Linux on Desktop is unreasonably good considering its market share.
As devs build out that ecosystem it'll become easier bring products to ARM. Eventually, we might even see something like the Steam Machines built on an ARM64 platform. If it ever happens, it'll happen on the backs of those trail blazing devs who built out the ecosystem, because they were able to get a pretty rockin' laptop on an ARM64 platform.
Devs also happen to be great evangelists for bringing technologies into the corporate ecosystem. This will create a demand for porting popular MDM and other corporate tooling over to ARM64.
I'm a dev and I'd love a machine like that. I actually think the older form factor is better, I carry my laptop to and from work every day, so I appreciate a lighter and slimmer laptop and I don't think I'm alone on that account. I couldn't care less about a screen that can get up to 1000+ nits, but only when playing certain videos.
I fail to see how any of that would make Apple a bunch of money.
I know Apple needs devs to make money. Lots of them. But I don't see any lack of them at the moment. In this context it appears we are just talking about selling more machines. You'd buy one. So would a few others. Apple wouldn't make a ton of money on that machine though.
There are enough iOS developers to make some difference. And I think that if it weren't for those iOS developers, who have no choice but to run MacOS, there would be many fewer developers using Macs.
Not just iOS, just the issue that you need MacOS to make applications for the apple ecosystem regardless. Im sure iOS is a big part, but I also imagine all the desktop application that want to be cross platform, so think like Photoshop. Or Microsoft has to have a Mac somewhere to compile Office to MacOS.
