Apple I

This article is about the early microcomputer. For the streaming service, see Apple One. For Apple's use of the i- prefix, see Internet-related prefixes § "i-". For other uses, see Apple 1 (disambiguation).

Apple Computer 1
A large, rectangular circuit board with mostly uniform chips arranged neatly in a grid. The rows are labeled A through D and the columns are numbered 1 to 18. Printed between rows of chips is the text, "Apple Computer 1", "Palo Alto, [California] Copyright 1976". There are three large cylindrical capacitors laying sideways in the corner. The board is sprinkled with small components including ceramic resistors and jumper wires.
Also known asApple I, Apple-1
DeveloperSteve Wozniak
ManufacturerApple Computer Company
TypeMotherboard-only personal computer kit
Release dateJuly 1976; 48 years ago (1976-07)
Introductory price$666.66 (equivalent to $3,600 in 2023)[1]
DiscontinuedSeptember 30, 1977; 47 years ago (1977-09-30)
Units soldc. 175 to 200
Operating systemCustom system monitor[2]
CPUMOS 6502 @ 1 MHz
Memory4 or 8 KB[3]
Storage256 B ROM[2]
Removable storageCassette tape
Graphics40×24 characters, hardware-implemented scrolling (Signetics 2513 "64×8×5 Character Generator"[4])
Marketing targetEarly hobbyist
SuccessorApple II

The Apple Computer 1 (Apple-1[a]), later known predominantly as the Apple I (written with a Roman numeral),[b] is an 8-bit motherboard-only personal computer designed by Steve Wozniak[5][6] and released by the Apple Computer Company (now Apple Inc.) in 1976. The company was initially formed to sell the Apple I – its first product – and would later become the world's largest technology company.[7] The idea of starting a company and selling the computer came from Wozniak's friend and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.[8][9] A differentiator of the Apple I was that it included video display terminal circuitry on its circuit board, allowing it to connect to a low-cost composite video monitor or television, whereas others avoided this and used more expensive monitors because business was used to more characters per displayed/typewritten line. It and the Sol-20 were some of the first home computers to have this capability.

To finance the Apple I's development, Wozniak and Jobs sold some of their possessions for a few hundred dollars.[10] Wozniak demonstrated the first prototype in July 1976 at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California, impressing an early computer retailer.[11] After securing an order for 50 computers, Jobs was able to order the parts on credit and deliver the first Apple products after ten days.[12]

The Apple I was one of the first computers available that used the inexpensive MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. An expansion included a BASIC interpreter, allowing users to utilize BASIC at home instead of at institutions with mainframe computers, greatly lowering the entry cost for computing with BASIC.

Production was discontinued on September 30, 1977, after the June 10, 1977 introduction of its successor, the Apple II, which Byte magazine referred to as part of the "1977 Trinity" of personal computing (along with the PET 2001 from Commodore Business Machines and the TRS-80 Model I from Tandy Corporation).[13] As relatively few computers were made before they were discontinued, coupled with their status as Apple's first product, surviving Apple I units are now displayed in computer museums.[14]

  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Apple-1 Operation Manual" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018 – via Apple Fritter.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference 1977 price list was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Datasheet Archive 2513 datasheet download". Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  5. ^ "Co-founder tells his side of Apple story". Reuters. September 27, 2006. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  6. ^ "A Chat with Computing Pioneer Steve Wozniak". NPR.org. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  7. ^ Chen, Liyan (May 11, 2015). "The World's Largest Tech Companies: Apple Beats Samsung, Microsoft, Google". Forbes. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  8. ^ Linzmayer, Owen W. (2004). Apple Confidential 2.0: The Definitive History of the World's Most Colorful Company. No Starch Press. p. 5. ISBN 9781593270100.
  9. ^ O'Grady, Jason D. (2009). Apple Inc. ABC-CLIO. p. 3. ISBN 9780313362446.
  10. ^ "Ventura County Star". Ventura County Star. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  11. ^ Freiberger, Paul; Swaine, Michael (2000). Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. pp. 265–267. ISBN 0-07-135892-7. At a Homebrew meeting in July 1976, Woz gave a demonstration of the Apple 1. Paul Terrell, one of the industries earliest retailers, was in attendance.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference wozniak-smith was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Most Important Companies". Byte. September 1995. Archived from the original on June 18, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference ford was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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