Macintosh 128K
The beige box that put a mouse and icons on millions of desks.
Overview
The first Macintosh was a self-contained computer: screen, logic board and disk drive lived in a single tall beige case with a carrying handle on top. A one-button mouse and a keyboard completed the package, and the machine booted straight into a desktop of windows, icons and menus.
Inside sat a Motorola 68000 running at about 8 MHz and just 128 KB of RAM, which was shared with the display. That tiny memory pool made multitasking impossible and forced users to swap floppies constantly, a limitation Apple fixed within months.
It launched with a now legendary television spot during the 1984 Super Bowl and shipped with MacWrite and MacPaint. Sales started strongly, then slowed, but the design language it established still shapes every Mac today.
Why it mattered
It brought the graphical interface and the mouse to a mass audience and defined what a Mac would be for the next forty years.
At a glance
- Announced
- January 24, 1984
- Released
- January 24, 1984
- Discontinued
- October 1, 1985
- Launch price
- $2,495
- Chip / processor
- Motorola 68000, 8 MHz
- Display
- 9"
- Storage
- 400 KB floppy
- Status
- Vintage
Highlights
- First mass-market Mac with a graphical interface
- All-in-one case with built-in 9-inch display
- Fanless, silent design
- Shipped with MacWrite and MacPaint
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Display
- Size
- 9-inch
- Type
- Monochrome CRT
- Resolution
- 512 x 342
Chip
- Chip
- Motorola 68000, 8 MHz
Memory
- RAM
- 128 KB (soldered)
- Storage options
- One 400 KB 3.5-inch floppy drive
- ROM
- 64 KB
Ports
- Ports
- 2 serial (RS-422), external floppy drive port, mouse, headphone jack
Design
- Dimensions
- 35 x 24 x 28 cm (13.6 x 9.6 x 10.9 in)
- Weight
- 7.5 kg (16.5 lb)
- Cooling
- Fanless
Software
- Launch OS
- System 1.0 with Finder 1.0
- Latest supported OS
- System 3.2 (via upgrade)
Expansion
- Slots
- None
Availability
- Announced
- January 24, 1984
- Released
- January 24, 1984
- Discontinued
- October 1, 1985
- Launch price
- $2,495
Colors
- Finishes
- Platinum Beige
How it compares
More in the Macintosh family
Macintosh 512K
The "Fat Mac" quadrupled memory to make the Mac usable.
Macintosh Plus
SCSI, SIMM sockets and an 800 KB drive in the long-lived compact Mac.
Macintosh 512Ke
The budget Mac that borrowed the Plus floppy drive and ROMs.
Macintosh SE
A compact Mac with an internal drive bay and its first expansion slot.
Macintosh SE/30
The fast, hackable compact Mac that collectors still adore.
Macintosh Classic
The first Mac under a thousand dollars.
Macintosh Classic II
A 68030 Classic: faster, but still a black-and-white compact.
Macintosh Color Classic
The last compact Mac, now with a color Trinitron screen.