Apple II/III · The Garage Era · 1983
Apple IIe
The longest-lived Apple computer ever, sold for nearly eleven years. The schoolroom workhorse of a generation; if you played Oregon Trail, you played it here.
This is the computer I remember most vividly from my childhood. It worked really well, and I spent hours playing games on it: Karateka, Castle Wolfenstein, Choplifter, all sorts of things. It had a floppy disk and a disk drive, of course. A great computer.
The "e" meant enhanced: lowercase, 64 KB and 80 columns standard.
Apple IIc (1984)
Apple IIe: key facts
When was the Apple IIe released?
The Apple IIe arrived in January 1983. Apple discontinued it in November 1993.
How much did the Apple IIe cost?
The Apple IIe launched at $1,395 in 1983, about $4,408 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).
What specs stand out?
Key specs: MOS 6502 (later 65C02) at 1.023 MHz, 64 KB RAM, 80-column text, up to 560×192 display, Disk II, slots.
Why does the Apple IIe matter?
The "e" meant enhanced: lowercase, 64 KB and 80 columns standard.
Full specifications
| CPU | MOS 6502 (later 65C02) · 1.023 MHz |
|---|---|
| Cores | 1 |
| Memory (RAM) | 64 KB (up to 1 MB) |
| Storage | — |
| Display | 80-column text, up to 560×192 |
| GPU | Integrated |
| Ports | Disk II, slots |
| Weight | 5.4 kg |
| Dimensions | All-in-one + keyboard |
| Operating system | Apple DOS 3.3 / ProDOS |
| Released | January 1983 |
| Discontinued | November 1993 |
| Launch price | $1,395 |
How the Apple IIe compares to today
A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 262,000× 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 $1,395 in 1983, about $4,408 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?
It outlived the Apple III, the Lisa, and several Macs meant to replace it.
Related Apple II/III models
Open the Apple IIe in the interactive archive →
Last updated: 2026-08-11