Macintosh II

Macintosh II
DeveloperApple Computer
Product familyMacintosh II
Release dateMarch 2, 1987 (1987-03-02)
LifespanMarch 2, 1987 - January 15, 1990 (2 years, 10 months, and 13 days) [1]
Introductory priceUS$5,498 (equivalent to $14,750 in 2023)
DiscontinuedJanuary 15, 1990 (1990-01-15)
Operating system4.17.1.1 (Pro), 7.57.5.5 or with 68030 32-bit upgrade Mac OS 7.6.1, A/UX 1.0 - 3.1
CPUMotorola 68020 @ 16 MHz
Memory1 MB, expandable to 8 MB (128 MB via FDHD upgrade kit) (120 ns 30-pin SIMM)
PredecessorMacintosh 512Ke
Macintosh Plus
SuccessorMacintosh IIx
Macintosh IIcx
RelatedMacintosh SE
Macintosh SE/30

The Macintosh II is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from March 1987 to January 1990. Based on the Motorola 68020 32-bit CPU, it is the first Macintosh supporting color graphics. When introduced, a basic system with monitor and 20 MB hard drive cost US$5,498 (equivalent to $14,750 in 2023). With a 13-inch color monitor and 8-bit display card the price was around US$7,145 (equivalent to $19,160 in 2023).[2] This placed it in competition with workstations from Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems, and Hewlett-Packard.

The Macintosh II was the first computer in the Macintosh line without a built-in display; a monitor rested on top of the case like the IBM Personal Computer and Amiga 1000. It was designed by hardware engineers Michael Dhuey (computer) and Brian Berkeley (monitor) and industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger (case).

Eighteen months after its introduction, the Macintosh II was updated with a more powerful CPU and sold as the Macintosh IIx. In early 1989, the more compact Macintosh IIcx was introduced at a price similar to the original Macintosh II, and by the beginning of 1990 sales stopped altogether. Motherboard upgrades to turn a Macintosh II into a IIx or Macintosh IIfx were offered by Apple.

  1. ^ Calculate Duration Between Two Years | March 2, 1987 to January 15, 1990. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  2. ^ Edwards, Benj (June 7, 2012). "The Macintosh II celebrates its 25th anniversary". Macworld. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.

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