Mac · The Beige Era · 1993
Macintosh Color Classic
The compact Mac in glorious colour at last, with a sharp little Sony Trinitron. A favourite of collectors today for its chunky, adorable design.
Macintosh Color Classic: key facts
When was the Macintosh Color Classic released?
The Macintosh Color Classic was released in February 1993. Apple discontinued it in May 1995.
How much did the Macintosh Color Classic cost?
The Macintosh Color Classic launched at $1,390 in 1993 — about $3,030 in today’s money (approximate, US CPI).
What are the Macintosh Color Classic’s specs?
The Macintosh Color Classic used a Motorola 68030 running at 16 MHz, with 4 MB of memory and 80 MB of storage. It ran System 7.1.
Why does the Macintosh Color Classic matter?
First colour compact Macintosh.
Full specifications
| CPU | Motorola 68030 · 16 MHz |
|---|---|
| Cores | 1 |
| Memory (RAM) | 4 MB (up to 10 MB) |
| Storage | 80 MB |
| Display | 10" Sony Trinitron colour, 512×384 |
| GPU | Integrated |
| Ports | SCSI, ADB, one PDS slot |
| Weight | 10 kg |
| Dimensions | Compact all-in-one |
| Operating system | System 7.1 |
| Released | February 1993 |
| Discontinued | May 1995 |
| Launch price | $1,390 |
How the Macintosh Color Classic compares to today
A 16 GB Apple Silicon MacBook Pro has about 4,100× more memory than this device shipped with.
At 16 MHz, the clock is roughly 200× 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 20 modern phone photos.
Launched at $1,390 in 1993 — about $3,030 in today’s money (approx., US CPI).
Cross-architecture speed figures are clock-only and approximate; inflation figures use US CPI.
Did you know?
Enthusiasts famously "mod" them with faster boards — the "Color Classic Mystic."
Related Mac models
Open the Macintosh Color Classic in the interactive archive →
Last updated: 2026-06-25