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Desktop · 1980ObsoleteRare · 70
Apple III
A3S1 · Apple III era
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Identifiers
| Order number | A3S1 |
Reference
| Original price | $4,340 |
| Announced | 1980-05-19 |
| Discontinued | 1984-04-24 |
| Max supported OS | Apple SOS 1.3 |
| Design era | Apple III era |
Configurations
| Colors | Beige |
| CPU | Synertek 6502B @ 1.8 MHz (effective 1.4 MHz) |
| Memory | 128 KB, 192 KB, 256 KB |
| Storage | Internal 5.25″ floppy, External 5.25″ floppy, ProFile 5 MB HDD |
| Graphics | Built-in framebuffer (NTSC composite / RGB) |
| Operating system | Apple SOS (Sophisticated Operating System), Apple II emulation mode |
| Removable media | 5.25″ floppy |
Physical
| Ports & connectivity | 4× Apple II expansion slots · RS-232 serial (DB-25) · DB-19 external floppy · Silentype printer port · Composite video (RCA) · RGB video · Audio out |
| Dimensions (W×H×D) | 462 × 120 × 460 mm |
| Weight | 11.4 kg |
Known quirks
- Famous 'drop it 3 inches to reseat chips' workaround — the chipset ran hot and chips walked out of sockets
- No fan by Jobs's decree — cast-aluminum chassis meant to dissipate heat; didn't work
- Real-time clock chip failed en masse; Apple eventually removed it from ROM dependencies
- Launched at $4,340+ — expensive positioning hurt adoption against the cheaper II
- First 14,000 units recalled — Apple III's reputation never recovered despite fixes