Apple III and III Plus Review: Specs, Price, Value & Facts You Should Know

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Introduced: June 1980
Terminated: April 1984

Logic Board
Processor:

  • 6502A (Original Apple III)
  • 6502B (Later Apple III and Apple III Plus)

Processor Speed:   2 MHz peak, 1.4 MHz average
PMMU:   none
FPU:   none
Bus Speed:   2 MHz
Data Path:   8-bit
ROM Size:   4K

Note:

  • Apple III: basic system, came with 128K RAM, ran Apple SOS 1.0. Original selling price was $4340 to $7800.
  • Apple III revised: included 256K RAM, new sockets on motherboard, optional 5 MB ProFile drive. Sold for $3495.
  • Apple III Plus: included 256K RAM, new logic board, working built-in clock, improved ports, easier card installation, ran Apple SOS 1.3. Sold for $2995.

Level 1 Cache:   none
Level 2 Cache:   none
Expansion Slots:   4 x 50-Pin Proprietary (compatible with Apple II)

Memory
Min – Max RAM:   128K – 256K
Onboard RAM:   128K – 256K (III Plus)

Ports
I/O Ports:

  • Port A: 9-Pin (DB-9) Joystick Input (can be used for Apple Silentype printer)
  • Port B: 9-Pin (DB-9) Joystick Input
  • Port C: 25-Pin (DB-25) RS-232-C Serial Interface
  • 15-Pin NTSC-Compatible Color Video Port (can be used for RGB pure video)
  • RCA Black and White Video Port
  • Floppy drive port, up to 3 drives can be daisy chained
  • 5-Volt Audio Port

Video
Four Graphics Modes:

  • 280 x 192, black and white
  • 280 x 192, 16 colors, foreground and background
  • 140 x 192, full 16 colors
  • 560 x 192, black and white

Three Text Modes:

  • 40 x 24, black and white, normal and inverse
  • 80 x 24, black and white, normal and inverse
  • 40 x 24, 16 colors, foreground and background
  • All text modes have a software-definable 128-character set

Storage
Internal:

  • Shugart 143K 5.25-inch floppy drive

External:

  • 5.25-inch floppy drive, 5 MB ProFile Hard drive

Operating System
Addressing Modes:   8-bit
Compatible OS:

  • SOS (Sophisticated Operating System) versions 1.0 – 1.3, Apple DOS, CP/M (with Z-80 card)

Miscellaneous
Codename:   Sara
Form Factor:   Apple III

Keyboard:

  • 74 keys (61 on main keyboard, 13 on numeric pad), full 128 character ASCII represented, all keys have automatic repeat except modifier keys, five modifier keys: SHIFT, CONTROL, ALPHA LOCK, and two program-definable “Apple” keys, four directional arrow keys with two-speed repeat, four other special keys: TAB, ESCAPE, RETURN, ENTER

Dimensions (Inches):   4.8 H x 17.5 W x 18.2 D
Average Weight (lbs):   26
Original Price:   $4340 – $7800 US

Comments
The Apple III was meant to be a replacement for the venerable Apple II. Unfortunately, it suffered from a compromised design due in no small part to the Marketing Department’s insistence that the III run Apple II software. The III could have been based on a more powerful, modern chip, but in order to emulate the II, Apple had to go with the antiquated 6502. It would have been prohibitively expensive to put two chips on the system board. The Apple III would be Apple’s worst disaster to date and it nearly ruined the company. Many of the earliest Apple IIIs that shipped were returned because of hardware failure. The Apple III ran too hot and had no internal cooling fan. Its chips had the bad habit of popping out of their sockets. The III was eventually killed in favor of the IIe, which carried on the Apple II nameplate for the remainder of the 80s and kept Apple financially healthy.

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