A prototype "Apple Computer A" Apple-1 computer that was owned by Steve Jobs is up for auction starting today, and it is expected to fetch upwards of $500,000.
Hand-soldered by Steve Wozniak in 1976, the Apple Computer A printed circuit board was used by Steve Jobs to demonstrate the Apple-1 to Paul Terrell, who was the owner of The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California. The Byte Shop became the first retailer of the Apple-1 computer after Terrell ordered 50 fully assembled machines and sold them for $666.66 each.
The Apple Computer A has been matched to photographs taken by Terrell in 1976, showing the prototype in use. This machine is listed as the number two machine on the Apple-1 Registry and was considered "lost" until it was authenticated by Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen.
As described by RR Auctions, the site hosting the sale, there is some damage to the board.
This prototype resided on the 'Apple Garage' property for many years before being given by Steve Jobs to its current owner approximately 30 years ago. At that time, Jobs had been ousted from Apple and was looking forward to the promise of NeXT and Pixar. The board's present condition lends some insight into Jobs's judgment of it: he saw the prototype not as something to be enshrined, but as something to be repurposed. Several of the ICs have been plucked from their sockets, as have the microprocessor and other components, presumably for use on early production Apple-1 Computers.
The board appears to have been damaged by pressure on the upper right, resulting in a crack that runs from adjacent to the power supply area above D12 down through the bottom of the board to the right of A15. The missing piece is presumed to have been discarded, but can be reimagined thanks to Paul Terrell's photographs of the complete board. One of the distinguishing features of the "Apple Computer A" prototype was its use of three orange Sprague Atom capacitors, rather than the familiar 'Big Blue' capacitors used on the production Apple Computer 1.
Compared to production Apple-1 machines, the prototype has wording that reads "Apple Computer A," it has a different processor, and it lacks the green protective coating on typical Apple-1 computers.
Because of the rarity of the prototype, RR Auction expects it to fetch a high price at auction despite the damage.
Wednesday January 14, 2026 10:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Verizon is experiencing a major outage across the U.S. today, with hundreds of thousands of customers reporting issues with the network on the website Downdetector. There are also complaints across Reddit and other social media platforms.
iPhone users and others with Verizon service are generally unable to make phone calls, send text messages, or use data over 5G or LTE due to the outage....
Tuesday January 13, 2026 6:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced a new Apple Creator Studio bundle that offers access to six creative apps, as well as exclusive AI features and content, as part of a single subscription. In the U.S., pricing is set at $12.99 per month or $129 per year.
Here are the six apps included with an Apple Creator Studio subscription:Final Cut Pro on the Mac and iPad
Logic Pro on the Mac and iPad
Pixelmator...
Monday January 12, 2026 1:15 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today seeded the second beta of iOS 26.3, nearly a month after the first beta. So far, the update includes a couple of new features for iPhones.
iOS 15.3 through iOS 18.3 were all released in late January over the years, so it is thereby likely that iOS 26.3 will be released towards the end of this month as well. The update is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer.
Below,...
Monday January 12, 2026 7:38 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a statement shared with CNBC today, Apple confirmed that Google Gemini will power the next-generation version of Siri that is slated to launch later this year.
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"After careful evaluation, we determined that Google's technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and we're excited about the innovative...
Tuesday January 13, 2026 11:29 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today released a firmware update for the AirPods Pro 3. The latest firmware has a version number of 8B34, up from the previous version 8B30.
Apple has a support document for AirPods firmware updates, and it indicates that the 8B34 update contains unspecified "bug fixes and other improvements."
No other AirPods models received firmware updates today.
How to install AirPods Pro...
Friday January 9, 2026 8:17 am PST by Tim Hardwick
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop.
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...
Tuesday January 13, 2026 7:52 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple and Google this week announced that Gemini will help power a more personalized Siri, and The Information has provided more details.
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As soon as this spring, the report said the revamped version of Siri will be able to…
Answer more factual/world knowledge questions in a conversational manner
Tell more stories
Provide...
Tuesday January 13, 2026 10:50 am PST by Joe Rossignol
If you are not interested in subscribing to the new Apple Creator Studio bundle introduced today, you will officially start to miss out on some new features.
Apple said some "exciting new intelligent features and premium content" in Pixelmator Pro, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, and Freeform will only be accessible with a Creator Studio subscription. In the U.S., a subscription costs $12.99 per...
Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around nine months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices.
In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Consistent with previous...
Thursday January 8, 2026 2:56 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
