Which company introduced the Macintosh in 1984?
Quick answer
Apple introduced the Macintosh on January 24, 1984. Unveiled by Steve Jobs, it was one of the first mass-market personal computers with a graphical user interface (icons, windows and menus) and a mouse. It cost $2,495, about $7,500 in today’s money. The Mac line continues today.
Key facts
- Company
- Apple
- Launched
- January 24, 1984
- Price
- $2,495
- Memory
- 128 KB of RAM
The “1984” ad
Two days before the launch, Apple aired a commercial during Super Bowl XVIII directed by Ridley Scott, the director of Alien and Blade Runner. In it, a woman runs through a gray hall of obedient workers and hurls a sledgehammer at a giant screen showing a Big Brother figure, inspired by George Orwell’s novel 1984. It aired nationally only once but became one of the most famous ads in history.
What made the Mac special
| Feature | Why it mattered |
|---|---|
| Graphical interface | Users clicked icons instead of typing commands |
| Mouse | Made the computer easier to use; see who invented the computer mouse |
| All-in-one design | Screen, computer and disk drive in one compact case |
| Fonts | Multiple typefaces, which helped spark desktop publishing |
Apple’s earlier Lisa (1983) had similar features but cost nearly $10,000.
The first Mac’s specs
- 9-inch black-and-white screen
- 128 KB of RAM (modern phones have tens of thousands of times more)
- A 3.5-inch floppy disk drive
- MacPaint and MacWrite software
On stage, Jobs had the Mac introduce itself through a speech synthesizer: “Hello, I’m Macintosh.”
Who named it?
The project was started by Apple employee Jef Raskin, who named it after his favorite apple variety, the McIntosh, spelled differently to avoid a trademark conflict.
Macs since then
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Colorful iMac revives Apple |
| 2006 | Macs switch to Intel processors |
| 2020 | Apple begins switching to its own Apple silicon chips |
The Mac’s interface influenced Microsoft Windows; see who co-founded Microsoft. For keyboard shortcuts on a Mac, see how to take a screenshot on a Mac.
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