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Original Apple-1 Computer Sells for $500,000 at Auction

A student purchased the computer from his electronics professor in 1977. It just sold at auction for $400,000—plus another $100,000 in fees.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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Someone has just paid $500,000 for a rare Apple-1 computer built and tested by company co-founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. 

The 45-year-old computer went up for auction on Tuesday, which resulted in the winning bidder reportedly paying $400,000 to own the machine, and another $100,000 in fees to the auction house, John Moran Auctioneers. 

The computer originally launched in 1976 as Apple’s first product. Back then it cost $666—or about $3,210 today after accounting for inflation. With Apple now one the most influential tech companies in the world, the computer has since become a collector’s item. Apple made 200 Apple-1 machines and only 175 of them were ever sold, according to John Moran. 

The Apple-1 ComputerThe Apple-I Computer

However, the Apple-1 wasn't quite like the first Mac computers. Instead, it arrived as a barebones computing kit, requiring the buyer to add a keyboard, monitor, and case.

The Apple-1 up for auction on Tuesday is housed in a wooden chassis made out of Koa lumber. The machine is connected to a "Datanetics Keyboard Rev D" from 1976 and a Panasonic video monitor from 1986. A picture of the computer also shows it still seems to function.

The Apple I Computer.

According to John Moran, the machine was originally sold to an electronics professor at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, California, who then sold it to one of his students in 1977. The unnamed former student has now decided to auction it off.

The $500,000 amount is certainly alot to pay for a vintage computer, but it’s not the highest. In 2014, a separate Apple-1 computer sold for a record $905,000 at an auction in New York.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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