Photos of an extremely cool-looking Macintosh Classic prototype surface online

It's wild to look at this and think on how many it would take to rival even a first-generation iPhone.
By Adam Rosenberg  on 
Photos of an extremely cool-looking Macintosh Classic prototype surface online
An Apple Macintosh Classic computer is seen in Warsaw, Poland during the Retroapple 0.2 meetup on January 28, 2018. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images

Apple's Macintosh Classic launched in 1990 as an affordable home computing option. Now, 30 years later, there are photos on Twitter of a purported Classic prototype in a clear case.

I'm no Apple expert. I'll also be the first to acknowledge that hoaxes are sometimes a Thing on the internet. This may be real, but it may not be real. I just wanted to get that out of the way up front.

It is undeniably cool, though. In a tweet shared by @DongleBookPro there are four images of the machine, taken from different sides and angles. The mostly clear case offers a very good look at the internal makeup of this early Apple machine.

You can clearly see the colorful old Apple logo in the front-facing view, along with text that reads "Made in Singapore" stamped on the inside. The rear view, in addition to showing off an abundance of chonky I/O ports, all features a large, orange sticker.

"This unit complies with DHHS rules for performance standards at date of manufacture," it reads. "This unit is for development purposes only. Not to be sold in the United States of America."

Taken together, all of the images give a clear sense of how Apple crammed the different parts into a compact casing that includes both the CRT monitor and computing hardware components.

The Macintosh Classic was released as a budget-friendly option for home computer shoppers, coming in at under $1,000. That would be closer to $2,000 today — so not that budget-friendly — but it's still notable as Apple's first computer to sell for less than $1,000.

That price got you a full self-contained desktop-and-monitor combo PC that sported a Motorola 68000 8 MHz CPU, a whopping 1MB of RAM (expandable to 4MB), and a 9-inch monochrome display. I don't know the math on how many Macintosh Classics it would take to get you to even a first-generation iPhone — which launched with 128 MB of RAM — but it's surely more than 100!

The machine also included a 1.44-inch "floppy" disc drive, but no built-in hard drive. It's faster than the Macintosh Plus it replaced, but not by much.

This is nothing more than a cool, little moment of computing hardware geekery for people who love to indulge in such things. We just don't tend to see ancient hardware like this in our everyday life, and it's always a fun thought exercise to sit down and marvel at how far we've come.

Topics Apple

Mashable Image
Adam Rosenberg

Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.


Recommended For You
'The Crow' soundtrack turns 30: Looking back on the album that defined an era
Composite of images of Brandon Lee, Rob Zombie, Trent Reznor, and Robert Smith of The Cure.

'La Chimera' review: Josh O'Connor goes tomb raiding in this magical film
A group of men and women stand in a doorway, flanking a tall man in a white suit.

'Lisa Frankenstein' review: John Hughes and Tim Burton's twisted love child has risen
Kathryn Newton as Lisa Swallows and Cole Sprouse as The Creature in "Lisa Frankenstein."

'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' review: Do the puny humans spoil the fun again?
Godzilla and Kong roar together in "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire."

'Sing Sing' review: Colman Domingo delivers in prison-set friendship drama
Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin deliver tremendous performances in "Sing Sing."

More in Tech
Trans people are turning to VR as society fails them
pink person inside a cracking egg surrounded by screens

Celebrate spring blooms with flowery Lego sets on sale for 20% off at Amazon
a woman builds a bouquet of lego flowers




Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for March 29
A phone displaying the New York Times game 'Connections.'

Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for March 29
a phone displaying Wordle

NYT's The Mini crossword answers for March 29
Closeup view of crossword puzzle clues

NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for March 28
A phone displaying the New York Times game 'Connections.'

The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!