Mac · The Garage Era · 1983

Apple IIe

The longest-lived Apple computer ever — sold for nearly eleven years. The schoolroom workhorse of a generation; if you played Oregon Trail, you played it here.

Apple IIe (1983), Mac by Apple

Apple IIe: key facts

When was the Apple IIe released?

The Apple IIe was released in January 1983. Apple discontinued it in November 1993.

How much did the Apple IIe cost?

The Apple IIe launched at $1,395 in 1983 — about $4,408 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).

What are the Apple IIe’s specs?

The Apple IIe used a MOS 6502 (later 65C02) running at 1.023 MHz, with 64 KB of memory. It ran Apple DOS 3.3 / ProDOS.

Why does the Apple IIe matter?

The "e" meant enhanced: lowercase, 64 KB and 80 columns standard.

Full specifications

CPUMOS 6502 (later 65C02) · 1.023 MHz
Cores1
Memory (RAM)64 KB (up to 1 MB)
Storage
Display80-column text, up to 560×192
GPUIntegrated
PortsDisk II, slots
Weight5.4 kg
DimensionsAll-in-one + keyboard
Operating systemApple DOS 3.3 / ProDOS
ReleasedJanuary 1983
DiscontinuedNovember 1993
Launch price$1,395

How the Apple IIe compares to today

A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 262,000× more memory than this device shipped with.

At 1.023 MHz, the clock is roughly 3,130× slower than a single performance core of a 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro — and that is before counting cores, width and IPC.

Launched at $1,395 in 1983 — about $4,408 in today’s money (approx., US CPI).

Cross-architecture speed figures are clock-only and approximate; inflation figures use US CPI.

Did you know?

It outlived the Apple III, the Lisa, and several Macs meant to replace it.

Related Mac models

Open the Apple IIe in the interactive archive →

Last updated: 2026-06-25