Apple II
A home computer with color graphics and eight expansion slots that went on sale in June 1977 and sold about 6 million units over 16 years.
Steve Wozniak designed the Apple II. Apple showed it in April 1977 and first sold it on June 10, 1977. It used a MOS Technology 6502 processor running at 1.023 megahertz and showed 40 columns by 24 lines of text on a television or monitor.
The base model had 4 kilobytes of memory and cost $1,298. A model with the maximum 48 kilobytes cost $2,638. Eight slots on the motherboard let owners add cards for printers, memory and other devices, so the machine could change with its owner's needs.
Why it matters
The Apple II made Apple a major company. Businesses bought it to run VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program, which first appeared on the Apple II. Schools bought it too, and about 6 million units of all Apple II models sold during a 16-year run.
Key facts
- First sold June 10, 1977.
- Launch price of $1,298 for 4 kilobytes of memory, or $2,638 for 48 kilobytes.
- MOS Technology 6502 processor at 1.023 megahertz.
- Eight expansion slots on the motherboard.
- Total sales of all Apple II models reached about 6 million over a 16-year production run.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Apple II", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II, accessed October 14, 2026.
- Wikipedia, "Disk II", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_II, accessed October 14, 2026.
- Mimms Museum of Technology and Art, "Exhibits", mimmsmuseum.org/exhibits/, accessed October 14, 2026.