Apple IIGS

The Apple IIGS (styled as IIGS) is a 16-bit personal computer produced by <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple Computer</a> beginning in September 1986. It is the fifth and most powerful model of the <a href="/facts/Apple_II/se82CNvK">Apple II</a> family. The "GS" in the name stands for "Graphics and Sound", referring to its enhanced multimedia hardware, especially the state-of-the-art audio. It is compatible with earlier Apple II models, and Apple initially sold a kit for converting an <a href="/facts/Apple_IIe/3LMaIspU">Apple IIe</a> into a IIGS.
The system is a radical departure otherwise, with a <a href="/facts/WDC_65C816/5Ce9Nh4P">WDC 65C816</a> microprocessor, 256 KB or 1 MB of <a href="/facts/Random-access_memory/DuD4bxh6">random-access memory</a> expandable to 8 MB, resolution and color similar to the <a href="/facts/Amiga/60B3A9of">Amiga</a> and <a href="/facts/Atari_ST/9GsYSlaM">Atari ST</a>, and a 32 channel <a href="/facts/Ensoniq/v90oUMfk">Ensoniq</a> <a href="/facts/Wavetable_synthesis/aCNfYYXt">wavetable synthesis</a> chip. Bundled with a <a href="/facts/Computer_mouse/fJpa1tUE">mouse</a>, it is the first computer from Apple with a color <a href="/facts/Graphical_user_interface/wBlQFWDP">graphical user interface</a> (color was introduced on the <a href="/facts/Macintosh_II/VzSQmwRj">Macintosh II</a> six months later) and the <a href="/facts/Apple_Desktop_Bus/h7frV8FV">Apple Desktop Bus</a> interface for keyboards, mice, and other input devices.
The IIGS blurred the lines between the Apple II and Macintosh. After releasing the IIGS, Apple chose to focus on the Mac and no new Apple IIGS models were released. The standard RAM was doubled to 512 KB in 1988, then to 1 MB in 1989, and there were two firmware updates. Apple ceased IIGS production on December 4, 1992.

Apple IIGS open-in-new

Apple IIGS