Unlike the Macintosh SE/30 and other compact Macs before it, the Classic does not have an internal Processor Direct Slot, making it the first non-expandable desktop Macintosh since the Macintosh Plus. It was up to 25 percent faster than the Plus and included an Apple SuperDrive 3.5-inch (9 cm) floppy disk drive as standard. Nevertheless, the Classic featured several improvements over the aging Macintosh Plus, which it replaced as Apple's low-end Mac computer. But, it ensured compatibility with the Mac's by-then healthy software base as well as enabled it to fit the lower price Apple intended for it. Apple's decision to not update the Classic with newer technology such as a newer CPU, higher RAM capacity or color display resulted in criticism from reviewers, with Macworld describing it as having 'nothing to gloat about beyond its low price' and 'unexceptional'. The system specifications of the Classic are very similar to its predecessors, with the same 9-inch (23 cm) monochrome CRT display, 512 × 342 pixel resolution, and 4 megabyte (MB) memory limit of the older Macintosh computers. Production of the Classic was prompted by the success of the Original Macintosh, then the Macintosh Plus and finally the Macintosh SE.

It was the first Macintosh to sell for less than US$1,000. The Macintosh Classic was a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc.

1MB, expandable to 4MB (requires a RAM card) 120 ns, 30-pin DRAM chips required

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