Apple III

The Apple III was Apple's first computer designed primarily for business rather than evolved from Steve Wozniak's original Apple II architecture. It offered more memory, an 80-column display, an integrated floppy drive, lower-case keyboard and the sophisticated SOS operating system.

Early machines suffered serious reliability problems linked to heat and manufacturing, forcing Apple to replace thousands of systems. A built-in Apple II emulation mode was deliberately restricted, while the thriving II ecosystem reduced the III's commercial appeal.

Notable Features

• SOS introduced a device-independent, hierarchical operating system for business applications.
• Integrated Disk III drive and 80-column display reduced the need for expansion cards.
• Apple II emulation mode preserved selected older software but limited access to enhanced hardware.

Historical Significance

• Apple's first internally designed business computer and its first major commercial failure.
• Technical ideas from SOS and the III influenced later Apple software and hardware.

Collector’s Notes

• Revised machines are generally more reliable than the earliest production units.
• Original Disk III drives, monitor, Profile hard disk and software packages are uncommon.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Apple III
Manufacturer	Apple
Launched	Saturday, November 1, 1980
Launch Price	From approximately $4,340
Country	United States
CPU	Synertek 6502A at 2 MHz
Units Sold
Operating System	Apple SOS; restricted Apple II emulation
I/O	Composite video, game I/O, serial, audio and four expansion slots
Keyboard	Integrated upper/lower-case keyboard with numeric keypad
Storage	Built-in 143KB 5.25-inch floppy; optional Profile hard disk
Sound	One-bit internal speaker
Graphics	560 x 192 monochrome or 280 x 192 colour graphics
Display	80 x 24 or 40 x 24 text
ROM	System firmware and diagnostics in ROM
RAM	128KB standard; later 256KB
CPU Speed	2 MHz