The
Apple I, also known as the
Apple-1, was an early
personal computer. They were designed and
hand-built by
Steve Wozniak. Wozniak's friend
Steve Jobs had the idea of selling the computer. The Apple I was
Apple's first product, demonstrated in April 1976 at the
Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California. It went on sale in July 1976 at a price of $666.66, because Wozniak liked repeating digits
[Wozniak, Steven: "iWoz", page 180. W. W. Norton, 2006. ISBN 978-0-393-06143-7] and because they originally sold it to a local shop for $500 and added a one-third markup. About 200 units were produced. Unlike other hobbyist computers of its day, which were sold as kits, the Apple I was a fully assembled circuit board containing about 30 chips. However, to make a working computer, users still had to add a case, power supply, keyboard, and display. An optional board providing a cassette interface for storage was later released at a cost of $75.
Excerpt from the later Apple II 'Red' manual, including
Steve Wozniak's handwritten diagrams for the definition of shape tables
The Apple I's built-in
computer terminal circuitry was distinctive. All one needed was a
keyboard and an inexpensive
television set. Competing machines such as the
Altair 8800 generally were programmed with front-mounted toggle switches and used indicator lights (red
LEDs, most commonly) for output, and had to be extended with separate hardware to allow connection to a computer terminal or a
teletypewriter machine. This made the Apple I an innovative machine for its day. In April 1977 the price was dropped to $475.. It continued to be sold through August 1977, despite the introduction of the
Apple II in April 1977, which began shipping in June of that year. Apple had dropped the Apple 1 from its price list by October 1977, officially discontinuing it.
As of 2008, an estimated 30 to 50 Apple I computers are still known to exist, making it a very rare
collector's item. An Apple I reportedly sold for $50,000 at auction in 1999; however, a more typical price for an Apple I is in the $14,000–$16,000 range.
Emulators, clones, and replicas
A software-compatible clone of the Apple I (
Replica 1) produced using modern components, was released in 2003 at a price of around $200. Other replicas and do-it-yourself kits and instructions are available.
The
Multi Emulator Super System emulator also supports the Apple I.
