The Macintosh 128K, released as the "Apple Macintosh", is the original Apple Macintosh personal computer. Its beige case contained a 9 in (23 cm) monitor and came with a keyboard and mouse. An indentation in the top of the case made it easier for the computer to be lifted and carried. It had a selling price of US$2,495. The Macintosh was introduced by the now famous $900,000 television commercial by Ridley Scott, "1984", that most notably aired on CBS during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. The sales of the Macintosh were strong from its initial release and reached 70,000 units on May 3, 1984. After its successor, the Macintosh 512K, was introduced, it was rebadged as the Macintosh 128K.

The Macintosh was designed to achieve adequate graphics performance, which had previously required hardware costing over US$10,000, at a price accessible to the middle class. This narrow goal resulted in an efficient design which traded off expandability but met or exceeded the baseline performance of its competitors.