Apple IIGS

The Apple IIGS, while often considered to be part of the Apple II line, offered significantly more advanced capabilities over the Apple II when it was first introduced in 1986 and the "GS" nomenclature was meant to emphasize its enhanced Graphics and Sound. It ended up being a transitional machine in Apple's history as it attempted to bolster sales of the nearly decade old Apple II line while Apple was also migrating its development efforts to the growing Macintosh line.

The IIGS was built around a WDC 65C816 which offered backwards 6502 compatibility as well as a fully 16-bit native mode. In addition, new graphics modes offering 320x200 with 16 colors or 640x200 with 4 colors (16 dithered) were vast improvements over the Apple II. The addition of a soundcard offered 32 channels in stereo which made the platform attractive for sound editors and musicians as well as game programmers. Like Apple's later audio products such as the iPod and iTunes, the IIGS's audio capability led to a legal challenge from Apple Records due to their trademark on using the name "Apple" in audio applications.

Despite the impressive specifications, in some ways the IIGS was underpowered for its ambitions, especially compared with 16-bit computers based on the 68000, such as the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga and the Macintosh itself. Some of this reflected its design which necessitated compromises to maintain backward compatibility with the Apple II while also not wanting to cannibalize sales of the Macintosh. Despite the limitations, and critical dismay over the machine's overall performance, the inclusion of a GUI and mouse, larger memory capabilities and the enhanced graphics and software led to a number of games being produced for the IIGS. Apple ultimately did not heavily promote the IIGS despite strong initial sales, and while it continued to be sold up until December 1992, it only saw minor revisions (usually in the form of memory upgrades) throughout its production run.