Apple Macintosh Portable

Apple Macintosh Portable was introduced in 20 September 1989 as Apple's first battery-powered Macintosh, designed around a sharp active-matrix display and desktop-quality keyboard. It used a Motorola 68000 at 16 MHz with 1MB standard; expandable to 9MB. Active-matrix display was unusually crisp for 1989.

Superb screen quality and long operating time were offset by great weight, bulk and price, making it more transportable than laptop-like.

Notable Features

• Active-matrix display was unusually crisp for 1989.
• Lead-acid battery helped power a full 16MHz Macintosh architecture.
• Trackball could be moved to either side of the keyboard.

Historical Significance

• Superb screen quality and long operating time were offset by great weight, bulk and price, making it more transportable than laptop-like.
• Its place in the range reflects Apple's progression from the original compact Macintosh toward broader professional, educational and portable markets.

Collector’s Notes

• A failed main battery can prevent normal operation, and original power systems require careful restoration
• Original keyboards, mice, storage devices and model-specific accessories help document a complete period configuration.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Apple Macintosh Portable
Manufacturer	Apple
Launched	Wednesday, September 20, 1989
Country	United States
CPU	Motorola 68000 at 16 MHz
Units Sold
Operating System	System 6.0.4 through System 7.5.5
I/O	SCSI, two serial, ADB, modem and audio
Keyboard	Integrated full-size keyboard and removable trackball
Storage	1.44MB floppy and optional internal SCSI hard disk
Sound	Eight-bit mono sound
Graphics	640 x 400 one-bit graphics
Display	Built-in 9.8-inch 640 x 400 monochrome active-matrix LCD
ROM	256KB ROM
RAM	1MB standard; expandable to 9MB
CPU Speed	16 MHz