Macintosh XL is a modified version of the

Apple Lisa Lisa is a desktop computer developed by Apple, released on January 19, 1983. It is one of the first personal computers to present a graphical user interface (GUI) in a machine aimed at individual business users. Its development began in 1978. ...

personal computer made by

Apple Computer Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

In the Macintosh XL configuration, the computer shipped with

MacWorks XL MacWorks XL was an Apple Lisa computer program which shipped with the Macintosh XL. It allowed 64K Apple Macintosh ROM emulation so the Macintosh XL could run classic Mac OS programs. History Soon after the debut of the Macintosh, which sold ove ...

, a Lisa program that allowed 64 K

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

ROM emulation. An identical machine was previously sold as Lisa 2/10 with the Lisa OS only.

Hardware

Macintosh XL has a 400K 3.5" floppy drive and an internal 10 MB proprietary "Widget"

hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with mag ...

with provision for an optional 5 or 10 MB external

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hard drive with the addition of a parallel interface card. The machine uses a Motorola 68000 CPU, clocked at 5 MHz together with 512 KB RAM. Macintosh XL was discontinued in April 1985.

Upgrades

Because of its roots as a Lisa — unlike all other Macintosh computers — the stock Macintosh XL used rectangular

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...

s. The resolution of Macintosh XL's 12-inch (30.5 cm) display was 720×364 pixels. Square pixels were available through the Macintosh XL Screen Kit upgrade that changed the resolution to 608×432 pixels. The CPU could be replaced with a new CPU board containing up to 8 MB RAM, called ''XLerator 18''. The maximum upgraded RAM with conventional add-in RAM cards was up to 2 MB – quadruple the maximum capacity of earlier Macintosh computers. (With modifications to the CPU board, the XL could accommodate up to 4 MB of RAM).

MacWorks

MacWorks Plus MacWorks Plus was a complete implementation (port) of the Macintosh Plus 128K ROM on the Apple Lisa and Macintosh XL computer systems, and introduced in August 1988. It was developed for Sun Remarketing of Cache Valley, Utah, under license from ...

was developed by

Sun Remarketing Sun Remarketing, Inc. (originally Cook's, Inc. before 1983) was a retail company that specialized in reselling old Apple Computer software and hardware. It was founded by Robert L. "Bob" Cook in 1979. Apple Lisa In 1985, Sun Remarketing purchase ...

as a successor to MacWorks XL in order to provide application compatibility with the

Macintosh Plus The Macintosh Plus computer is the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced on January 16, 1986, two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh 512K, with a price tag of US$2,599. As an evolutiona ...

computer. MacWorks Plus added support for an 800 KB 3.5" floppy disk and System software up through version 6.0.3. MacWorks Plus II extended that to the same System 7.5.5 limit imposed on all 68000 processors.

History

After two years of lackluster sales, Apple attempted to salvage Lisa by redesigning some hardware components and renaming it as Macintosh XL. Basing on the previous sale figures of Lisa, Apple ordered the limited number of parts as to last through 1985 before ending the production. The redesign spurred a record number of orders for this addition to the Macintosh line, which caught Apple off-guard.

Discontinuation

Due to the limited number of parts ordered, Apple had sold its entire allocations of Macintosh XL for 1985 much earlier than anticipated. Had Apple continued to manufacture Macintosh XL as to meet the demand at lower price, the company would have lost even more money on each unit. Additionally, the cancellation was also due to the necessary consolidation of expenses and projects. In 1986, Apple offered the exchange program for the owners of Lisa and Macintosh XL. The owners could exchange their Lisa and Macintosh XL along with $1,495 US for the new

and

Hard Disk 20 The Macintosh Hard Disk 20 was the first hard drive developed by Apple Computer specifically for use with the Macintosh 512K. Introduced on September 17, 1985, it was part of Apple's long-awaited solution toward completing the Macintosh Office ( ...

(list price of $4,098 US).

Sun Remarketing

After Apple dropped the XL from their price list in September 1985,

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin ...

, bought a number of Apple's remaining inventory and continued to sell them under license with their updated version of MacWorks Plus, re-branding it as Macintosh Professional. Although no new Lisas were available for sale, development continued on MacWorks Plus to support the installed base of Lisas, making them as relevant as their closely-related cousin Macintosh Plus.

Legacy

Macintosh XL shares the same legacy as Lisa before it. However, the increased sales from the emulation of the Macintosh operating system proved that the Macintosh family badly needed a more professional environment which could support larger monitors, greater memory, and more expandability than

Macintosh 512K The Macintosh 512K is a personal computer that was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from September 1984 to April 1986. It is the first update to the original Macintosh 128K. It was virtually identical to the previous Macint ...

offered.

Timeline

References

{{Apple hardware before 1998 XL XL Computer-related introductions in 1985