Apple II (original)
A common 1977 configuration, with a 9" monochrome monitor, game paddles, and a Red Book-recommended Panasonic RQ-309DS cassette deck | |
| Developer | Steve Wozniak (lead designer) |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Apple Computer, Inc. |
| Product family | Apple II |
| Release date | June 10, 1977 |
| Introductory price | US$1,298 (equivalent to $6,740 in 2024) |
| Discontinued | May 1979 |
| Operating system | Integer BASIC / Apple DOS |
| CPU | MOS Technology 6502 @ 1.023 MHz |
| Memory | 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 32, 36, 48, or 64 KiB |
| Storage | Audio cassette, Disk II (5.25-inch, 140 KB, Apple) |
| Display | NTSC video out (built-in RCA connector) |
| Graphics | Lo-res: 40×48, 16-color Hi-res: 140/280×192, 6-color |
| Sound | 1-bit speaker (built-in) 1-bit cassette input (built-in microphone jack) 1-bit cassette output (built-in headphone jack) |
| Input | Upper-case keyboard, 52 keys |
| Controller input | Paddles |
| Connectivity | Parallel port card (Apple and third party); Serial port card (Apple and third party); SCSI |
| Predecessor | Apple I |
| Successor | Apple II Plus |
The Apple II (stylized as apple ][) is a personal computer released by Apple Inc. in June 1977. It was one of the first successful mass-produced microcomputer products and is widely regarded as one of the most important personal computers of all time due to its role in popularizing home computing and influencing later software development.
The Apple II was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak. The system is based around the 8-bit MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. Jerry Manock designed the foam-molded plastic case, Rod Holt developed the switching power supply, while Steve Jobs was not involved in the design of the computer. It was introduced by Jobs and Wozniak at the 1977 West Coast Computer Faire, and marks Apple's first launch of a computer aimed at a consumer market—branded toward American households rather than businessmen or computer hobbyists.
Byte magazine referred to the Apple II, Commodore PET 2001, and TRS-80 as the "1977 Trinity". As the Apple II had the defining feature of being able to display color graphics, the Apple logo was redesigned to have a spectrum of colors.
The Apple II was the first in a series of computers collectively referred to by the Apple II name. It was followed by the Apple II+, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, Apple IIc Plus, and the 16-bit Apple IIGS—all of which remained compatible. Production of the last available model, the Apple IIe, ceased in November 1993.