Home Desktops Apple Macintosh 128K Apple · Macintosh
Released January 1984
The original Macintosh combines a monochrome screen, mouse-driven interface and floppy storage in a compact enclosure.
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Type All-in-one
Processor 68000 8 MHz (Macintosh 128K)
Memory 128 KB
Storage –
Screen 9″
Weight – What reviewers say Both contemporary reviews praise the approachable mouse-driven interface, crisp display and illustrated document tools. The Los Angeles Times is enthusiastic about its ease of use and early software prospects; BYTE finds the same interface unusually accessible but highlights slow file operations, frequent disk swapping and severe memory limits. BYTE regards it as enjoyable yet constrained for more demanding work.
From mac-history.net and mac-history.de
Processor 68000 8 MHz (Macintosh 128K)
CPU cores 1
Memory 128 KB
CPU 8 MHz 68000; maker lists no PMMU, FPU, cache or second processor
Memory type Fixed 128 KB RAM and 64 KB ROM, Apple's original SE/30 owner manual Macintosh product-line appendix and contemporaneous reviews. Retained Apple support sheet incorrectly labels RAM 0.125 MB; no built-in expansion, with third-party upgrades described separately
Storage type Built-in 400 KB removable floppy drive, manually loaded and automatically ejected; no internal hard drive or hard-drive interface. Floppy capacity remains removable-media detail, not main internal storage
Expansion slots None Display
Screen size 9″
Resolution 512 × 342
Panel CRT
Display type 9-inch monochrome CRT, 512 × 342 pixels; 9-inch diagonal confirmed in Apple's original SE/30 owner manual, Macintosh product-line appendix; generic maker table 512 × 384 conflicts with its explicit note 512 × 342
Display features One-bit black-and-white bitmap display; no separate text mode, as described in BYTE Connections
Ports Headphone jack
Back ports External floppy DB-19, printer and modem serial ports, keyboard, mouse and speaker/headphone output; no USB, ADB, SCSI, Ethernet, FireWire or external video. Maker warns serial ports lack handshaking and synchronous modem support Design and power
Type All-in-one
Operating system macOS
Size and weight detail Maker 16.5 lb and 13.6 in height × 9.6 in width × 10.9 in depth; original units retained
Power supply Maker maximum 60 W, 105–125 V, 50–60 Hz, 0.5 A; 4.5 V alkaline
In the box Separate keyboard and mouse; initial MacWrite/MacPaint bundle described by LA Times. Apple introduction 24 January 1984; January retail month supported by actual 29 January LA Times review, not inferred exact first-sale day. BYTE identifies Motorola 68000; support sheet omits supplier Configurations Processor Memory Storage 68000 8 MHz (Macintosh 128K) 128 KB –
Pros and cons Pros + Integrated monochrome display+ Mouse and separate keyboard+ Built-in graphical interface routinesCons − Fixed 128 KB memory− No internal hard drive or SCSI− No expansion slotsNewer model: Macintosh 512K .
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