Compact Mac · The Beige Era · 1987
Macintosh SE
The compact Mac grows up: room for an internal hard drive, an expansion slot, and the Apple Desktop Bus that standardised keyboards and mice.
First compact Mac with an expansion slot and the new ADB peripheral bus.
Macintosh SE/30 (1989)
Macintosh SE: key facts
When was the Macintosh SE released?
The Macintosh SE arrived in March 1987. Apple discontinued it in October 1990.
How much did the Macintosh SE cost?
The Macintosh SE launched at $2,900 in 1987, about $8,178 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).
What specs stand out?
Key specs: Motorola 68000 at 7.83 MHz, 1 MB RAM, 20 MB storage, 9" monochrome, 512×342 display.
Why does the Macintosh SE matter?
First compact Mac with an expansion slot and the new ADB peripheral bus.
Full specifications
| CPU | Motorola 68000 · 7.83 MHz |
|---|---|
| Cores | 1 |
| Memory (RAM) | 1 MB (up to 4 MB) |
| Storage | 20 MB |
| Display | 9" monochrome, 512×342 |
| GPU | Bitmapped framebuffer |
| Ports | SCSI, ADB, one PDS slot |
| Weight | 7.7 kg |
| Dimensions | Compact all-in-one |
| Operating system | System 4.0 |
| Released | March 1987 |
| Discontinued | October 1990 |
| Launch price | $2,900 |
How the Macintosh SE compares to today
A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 16,400× more memory than this device shipped with.
At 7.83 MHz, the clock is roughly 409× slower than a single performance core of a 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro, and that is before counting cores, width and IPC.
All of this storage holds about 5 modern phone photos.
Launched at $2,900 in 1987, about $8,178 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?
"SE" stood for "System Expansion."
Related Compact Mac models
Open the Macintosh SE in the interactive archive →
Last updated: 2026-08-11