Apple II/III · The Garage Era · 1977
Apple II
The machine that built Apple. Eight slots, colour graphics and a friendly case kept it in classrooms for a decade; VisiCalc (the first spreadsheet) turned it into a business tool.
First personal computer with built-in colour graphics, sold fully assembled.
Apple II Plus (1979)
Apple II: key facts
When was the Apple II released?
The Apple II arrived in June 1977. Apple discontinued it in May 1979.
How much did the Apple II cost?
The Apple II launched at $1,298 in 1977, about $6,698 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).
What specs stand out?
Key specs: MOS 6502 at 1.023 MHz, 4 KB RAM, NTSC colour, 280×192 / 40-col text display, Cassette, 8 slots, game.
Why does the Apple II matter?
First personal computer with built-in colour graphics, sold fully assembled.
Full specifications
| CPU | MOS 6502 · 1.023 MHz |
|---|---|
| Cores | 1 |
| Memory (RAM) | 4 KB (up to 48 KB) |
| Storage | — |
| Display | NTSC colour, 280×192 / 40-col text |
| GPU | Wozniak colour graphics |
| Ports | Cassette, 8 slots, game |
| Weight | 5.4 kg |
| Dimensions | All-in-one + keyboard |
| Operating system | Integer BASIC (later Apple DOS) |
| Released | June 1977 |
| Discontinued | May 1979 |
| Launch price | $1,298 |
How the Apple II compares to today
A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 4,190,000× more memory than this device shipped with.
At 1.023 MHz, the clock is roughly 3,130× slower than a single performance core of a 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro, and that is before counting cores, width and IPC.
Launched at $1,298 in 1977, about $6,698 in today’s money (approx., US CPI).
Method note: clock comparisons use frequency only; price conversions use US CPI.
Sources
Specs checked against Apple technical specifications archive, EveryMac, Mactracker, Wikimedia Commons image credits.
Did you know?
Woz’s clever Disk II floppy controller undercut rivals by hundreds of dollars.
Related Apple II/III models
Open the Apple II in the interactive archive →
Last updated: 2026-08-11