Polaroid Snapshots of the First Apple Computers Ever Made

Technologizer's Harry McCracken has unearthed some photographs taken by Paul Terrell of the Byte Shop in Mountain View, California in 1976. At the time, the Byte Shop was one of the only computer stores in the world, and ended up being the first dealer for an upstart company called Apple Computer.

According to Terrell, Jobs and Wozniak came into his shop with the first version of the Apple-1 asking him to sell it to his customers. Here's an early photo of the circuit board hooked up to a keyboard and monitor.

NewImage

They called their machine the Apple-1, and it was a bare board; any buyers would have to solder on the necessary chips themselves, then supply accoutrements such as a power supply, keyboard and display.

Terrell was intrigued, but told Jobs that what he really needed were fully-assembled computers. In fact, if Jobs could come back with an assembled version of the Apple-1, the Byte Shop would buy fifty of them. Jobs did, and the Byte Shop became the first Apple dealer (it eventually offered the Apple-1 in a wooden case with keyboard and power supply).

Terrell eventually paid $500 each for 50 Apple-1's, which history says sold for $666.66 each at retail. There are more pictures, and some additional backstory, at Technologizer.

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
Apple Intelligence General Feature

Report: Apple's Next-Gen Version of Siri Is 'On Par' With ChatGPT

Monday May 19, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple has big plans to improve Siri over the next few years, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett report. Some Apple executives are now reportedly pushing to turn Siri into a true ChatGPT competitor. A next-generation, chatbot version of Siri has reportedly made significant progress during testing over the past six months; some executives allegedly now see it as "on par" with recent...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Apple Will Reportedly Be More Cautious About Announcing New Features Well in Advance

Sunday May 18, 2025 2:50 pm PDT by
Apple plans to mostly stop announcing new features more than a few months before they are ready to launch, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett. The pair of reporters revealed this noteworthy tidbit towards the bottom of a lengthy report about Apple's artificial intelligence shortcomings today. This alleged change in strategy comes after Apple was forced to delay its more...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...

Top Rated Comments

arn Avatar
163 months ago
Slow news day today Arn?

Slow comment day today?

arn
Score: 65 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Yvan256 Avatar
163 months ago
I find it sad that people find this kind of news boring. It's the beginning, the roots of Apple. Without that beginning, there probably would not be Macs, iPhones or iPads today. Then again, without Apple, perhaps Commodore would not have stood on their ass and we'd all be using Amiga computers today.

People today only want a new iPhone with a new shape or a bigger screen and they don't even seem to care when it looks exactly the same but everything inside has been upgraded.

But to us nerds, which is the kind of people it takes to build such devices by the way, this kind of news is 1000 times more interesting than hearing about lawsuits or contract deals with heartless media mega-corporations.

If you don't like a story, just don't comment on it or start your own website where you can approve the stories yourself. Anything else is just noise that doesn't add anything to the discussion of the topic.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RawBert Avatar
163 months ago
Never mind th cynics Arn, I love seeing stuff like this. Hell, it beats another iTV or law suit rumor.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Saladinos Avatar
163 months ago
According to Terrell, Jobs and Wozniak came into his shop with the first version of the Apple-1 asking him to sell it to his customers.

Terrell was intrigued, but told Jobs that what he really needed were fully-assembled computers. In fact, if Jobs could come back with an assembled version of the Apple-1, the Byte Shop would buy fifty of them. Jobs did, and the Byte Shop became the first Apple dealer (it eventually offered the Apple-1 in a wooden case with keyboard and power supply).

This is the kind of thing that doesn't exist any more in today's world.

These days, you'd have all sorts of regulatory and legal hurdles: you'd need certification for wireless parts, you'd need to invest a significant amount of time in protecting your IP (trademarks), and you'd probably get a fair number of aggressive patent challenges.

You can't just make something and take it to a shop and get it sold to people any more.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MultiMediaWill Avatar
163 months ago
Slow news day today Arn?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G51989 Avatar
163 months ago
Never mind th cynics Arn, I love seeing stuff like this. Hell, it beats another iTV or law suit rumor.

Indeed, I'd rather see pictures of the first Apples than hear about a lawsuit or some ****** TV.

This is 10 times more interesting.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)