Lisa · The Beige Era · 1984
Apple Lisa 2
The Lisa 2 was Apple’s attempt to make the GUI workstation less exotic and less expensive, replacing the notorious Twiggy floppies with a single 3.5-inch drive.
Apple Lisa 2: key facts
When was the Apple Lisa 2 released?
The Apple Lisa 2 was released in January 1984. Apple discontinued it in August 1986.
How much did the Apple Lisa 2 cost?
The Apple Lisa 2 launched at $3,495 in 1984 — about $10,590 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).
What are the Apple Lisa 2’s specs?
The Apple Lisa 2 used a Motorola 68000 running at 5 MHz, with 512 KB of memory and 10 MB of storage. It ran Lisa Office System 2.
Why does the Apple Lisa 2 matter?
Reworked the Lisa around Sony 3.5-inch media instead of unreliable Twiggy drives.
Full specifications
| CPU | Motorola 68000 · 5 MHz |
|---|---|
| Cores | 1 |
| Memory (RAM) | 512 KB (up to 2 MB) |
| Storage | 10 MB |
| Display | 12" monochrome, 720×364 |
| GPU | Integrated / NuBus video |
| Ports | 3.5-inch floppy, ProFile / Widget, serial |
| Weight | Varies by configuration |
| Dimensions | Desktop computer |
| Operating system | Lisa Office System 2 |
| Released | January 1984 |
| Discontinued | August 1986 |
| Launch price | $3,495 |
How the Apple Lisa 2 compares to today
A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 32,800× more memory than this device shipped with.
At 5 MHz, the clock is roughly 640× slower than a single performance core of a 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro — and that is before counting cores, width and IPC.
All of this storage holds about 3 modern phone photos.
Launched at $3,495 in 1984 — about $10,590 in today’s money (approx., US CPI).
Cross-architecture speed figures are clock-only and approximate; inflation figures use US CPI.
Did you know?
Many Lisa 2 units were later converted into Macintosh XL machines.
Related Lisa models
Open the Apple Lisa 2 in the interactive archive →
Last updated: 2026-06-27