On this day, Apple released the last computer in the Apple II family, which was the company’s first hit.
Apple created the first very successful computer with the Apple II, which introduced the Mac and the mainframe PC. But today in 1986, the company released its final product, called the Apple IIGS. It was the most powerful computer in the family and had already been on the market for six years, so why did Apple lose its popularity at a time when it had so much potential? It was about Apple’s dominance not only in the computer space but as a technology company as a whole.
Apple has not hesitated to introduce new products that could undermine its success in the market. When Apple unveiled the first iPhone in 2007, the market for iPods was at an all-time high. No one was looking for phones with this kind of quality, but Apple had a vision of what the best iPhone could be. Although the original iPhone was mocked and ridiculed at launch, Apple boldly risked the success of the iPod to bet on its smartphone. The same trend can be seen with the Apple II line, which was abandoned in favor of a product line.
Apple II: The world’s first multitasking PC
When the first Apple II was released in 1977, many computer goliaths focused on the business and enterprise markets. Neither corporations nor individual consumers believed that people needed computers in their homes, but the success of Apple’s first consumer PC, along with the Commodore PET and TRS-80, changed the market forever. It also cemented Apple as a major technology company, with sales growing to $118 million by 1990.
Three iterations of the Apple II line will come before the Apple IIGS is released on Sept. 15, 1986. It was the first 16-bit Apple II computer, replacing the previous 8-bit systems. It had a processor clocked at 2.8 MHz and could be configured with 256KB or 1MB of memory, but could be upgraded to 8MB by the user. Apple had ambitious plans for the Apple IIGS, but this led to the Apple IIx project being canceled by the ill-fated Apple III in 1980. Although these projects were not successful, the research and development that went into these systems helped create the Apple IIGS.
Why did Apple move away from the Apple II?
Apple did not give the Apple IIGS a chance to succeed because it focused on the Macintosh, which debuted in 1984. so as not to hurt Macintosh sales. Since the original Macintosh 128K had a Motorola 6800 chip that could hit a clock speed of 7.8336 MHz, people who wanted the best performance had to choose the Macintosh over the Apple IIGS. In particular, the Macintosh shipped with 128KB of memory, which was less than the Apple IIGS.
So, when the Apple IIGS was released in 1986 it started a six-year run on the last Apple II system, it was destined to fail from the start. Apple loved all-in-ones and wanted the Macintosh to be its flagship computer. Although it was initially difficult due to Apple’s limitations, it achieved this later with the Macintosh series.
Categories: Reviews
Source: thptvinhthang.edu.vn
