Apple I

Apple I is one of the first computers sold to consumers in full assembled form. The device was developed in 1976 by co-founder Apple Steve Wozniak (Steve Wozniak) and released in the amount of 200 copies.

Early personal computer Apple I in 1976.

2021: Selling a computer at auction for $400K

In early November 2021, the original Apple computer, assembled by company founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs in 1976, was sold at auction in the United States for $400 thousand. The rare Apple-1 in a Hawaiian Koa tree case, which is still functioning, is one of only 200 copies made and sold as a set.

The computer had only two owners, this is a college professor and his student, to whom he sold the car for $650, said auctioneer John Moran of California. During the sale, user manuals and software for a personal computer on two cassettes were sold.

Rare Apple-1 computer sold at auction for $400 thousand

This is a kind of holy grail for collectors of vintage electronics and computer equipment. Apple-1 really makes it interesting for many people. The amount for this model is 65.5 times higher than the cost of the most expensive modern MacBook Pro. At the beginning of November 2021, 60 copies remained, only 20 of which are in working condition, "said Corey Cohen, an expert on computer antiques.

Jobs, Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple on April 1, 1976 in a garage in California. To finance the production of Apple-1, Jobs sold his Volkswagen minibus, and Wozniak sold his HP-65 calculator for $500. The case of the auctioned Coa tree model was added by early computer retail pioneer ByteShop in California, which took delivery of about 50 cars such as the Apple-1. In 1976, computers were sold for $666.66, as it is reported because Wozniak liked to repeat the numbers. The car put up for auction is not the most expensive Apple-1 computer, this honor belongs to the working version sold for $905 thousand at the Bonhams auction in New York in 2014.^[1]

2014: Apple I is the most expensive among rare computers

On October 22, 2014, an Apple 1 vintage computer was sold at Bonhams auction in New York for almost $1 million. This amount is a record in the history of sales of rare PCs and turned out to be much more than the previous owners of this device expected.

Until 2014, only a few Apple I computers were preserved. The copy sold in October 2014 for a record price was included in the first batch of 50 pieces intended for the Byte Shop electronics store.

About $905 thousand was paid by the Henry Ford Museum for the historical model of the Apple I personal computer, hand-assembled by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in the garage of another company founder - Steve Jobs - in the summer of 1976.

Apple 1 computer sold at auction for $905 thousand.

In the auction house where this lot was put up, they counted on the amount of $300-500 thousand. The previous record dates back to May 2013: then one of the first Apple computers went under the hammer for $671 thousand.

The device sent to the Henry Ford Museum is fully functional. It is equipped with an archaic keyboard, a Sanyo monitor, a self-assembled power supply in a wooden case and a cassette recorder with video recording, which captures Steve Wozniak's performance at the AppleVention event in 1980.

1976: Apple I sales amounted to 200 pieces

Apple 1 is considered one of the first computers to be sold completely ready and did not require build skills from the user. In 1976, Steve Jobs managed to sell about 200 devices for $500 each.

Стив Джобс (слева) и Стив Возняк

See also

• Apple History