Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world – but the most expensive Apple product ever made might surprise you.
With the profitable tech company making $99.8 billion in net income in 2022, you might think the iPhone is most profitable.
However, despite the 2023 Mac Pro priced at $7,500 and even the 2015 Apple Watch Gold at $17,000 – these aren’t the most expensive Apple product ever made.
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In fact, delving into the three-decade history of Apple is necessary.
Apple’s strategy has always been to release high-end and innovative tech with a focus on innovation and quality.
But it’s the 1980 Apple III, which at the time set consumers back $8,000 (adjusted to $26,230 for inflation), that sets the bar as the most expensive Apple product ever made.
It was dropped onto the blossoming IT market on 19 May 1980 at the National Computer Conference, California.
The Apple III computer was the first designed by Apple.
It followed the Apple II series and was designed for modern business users of the eighties.
Sadly, the computer was a commercial failure due to design faults – similarly to the iPhone 15 and update blips of 2023.
As such, it was a steep learning curve for CEO Steve Jobs.
The series from Apple II to Apple III and Apple III+ was discontinued in 1985 after just 65,000 units were sold.
Weighing roughly 11.3 kg – this wasn’t a computer to pop into a briefcase for your commute.
With a Synertek 6502A processor, it also had a built-in 5.25-inch floppy disk drive with four expansion slots – a first for the soon-to-be tech giant.
It had Apple’s Sophisticated Operating System (SOS) at 2 MHz with 128k of memory (expandable to 512 KB for a price).
What’s more, its typewriter-style keyboard was the first of its kind for the company, with the Apple II sporting a teletype-style keyboard.
The launch of Apple III coincided with International Business Machines (IBM), launching a personal home computer.
Its MS-DOS operating system would later become known as Microsoft.
The creation, boasting software from tech ingenue, Bill Gates, sold the same number of units in a four-month run than the Apple III sold in its five-year production run.
