The Apple II computer was the first personal computer to achieve significant commercial success upon its release in 1977. Designed for Apple by co-founder and hardware designer Steve Wozniak and product designer Jerry Mannock in 1977, under the leadership of co-founder Steve Jobs, the Apple II signaled a significant shift in how computers were to be used in both domestic and office environments. The Apple II represents a significant moment within digital and product design and tells the story of the introduction of home computing, and the wider impact this shift had on society.

The Disk II, the 5¼-inch floppy disk drive designed by Apple for the Apple II, was engineered by Wozniak and went on sale in June 1978. This device made it possible to load programmes onto the Apple II and Wozniak credits this innovation, alongside the success of the software VisiCalc, for the success of the Apple II system. The acquired floppy disk drive is a first-edition model of the product sold for use with the Apple II and is accessorised with the rainbow ribbon cable specific to this early version. Later models featured a less costly to produce brown ribbon cable.

Launched at the April 1977 West Coast Computer Fair and released onto the market two months later in June, the Apple II was the first personal computer to achieve significant commercial success. Conceived by Wozniak as a self-contained computer system that allowed users to write and run programmes in the BASIC programming language, the Apple II sold for $1298 ($5,397.39 in 2018). Wozniak designed the computer’s internal electronics and circuitry and its outer hardware was designed by product designer Jerry Manock (who led on industrial design at Apple from 1977 to 1984). Steve Jobs oversaw the development of the product as a whole and took particular responsibility for the foam-moulded removable plastic case that was intended to make the device more aesthetically pleasing and thereby marketable. At Jobs’s request the casing was produced in Pantone colour 453, a light sandy beige. In total, around 5 million Apple II computers were sold until their discontinuation in 1993.

The Apple II is an important addition to the museum’s collection, and is a lead example of the convergence of work and home computing. Apple has had significant, widespread influence on the field of digital and product design since its inception in 1976 and this is reflected in our collections. The acquisition of the Apple II joins other objects in the V&A’s collection from the company including Apple Power Book from 1992, the iMac G3 from 1998, two versions of the iPhone (from 2007 and 2014), the iPod Nano from 2012 and the iPod Touch from 2010. The Apple II and accessories represents a significant addition to the story of Apple and personal computing in the late twentieth century at the V&A.

This acquisition package was purchased from US-based collector Dany de Grave, whose family have collected items from the history of Apple since its conception in 1976.