Mac Plus Launch

Apple announced the Macintosh Plus and LaserWriter Plus together on January 16, 1986. The biggest Mac event between the original Mac launch (Jan 1984) and the Apple IIGS launch (Sep 1986).

Mac Plus specs

• 1 MB RAM (expandable to 4 MB without board swap — first Mac with expandable memory)
• 800K internal double-sided floppy drive
• SCSI port (Mac's first standardized peripheral expansion)
• Numeric-keypad keyboard with cursor keys
• $2,599 retail
• Existing Mac 128K/512K owners could upgrade via swap-board services (Clinton Computer offered $699-$1675 upgrades to Pi members at 25% off)

LaserWriter Plus

• Upgraded original LaserWriter with 35 PostScript fonts (up from 13)
• Same 300 DPI engine
• Foundation of Apple's Apple Desktop Publishing branding

Pi coverage

• 1986-02 — V08 N02 — Mac+ and LaserWriter+ Announcements (p67-70) + ★ Microsoft Excel 1.0 for Mac arrives simultaneously — Pi covers all three
• 1986-03 — V08 N03 — ★★ Desktop Publishing arrives in force: Apple II DTP + Here Comes DTP + dPub SIG column launches; Macintosh Plus Connectors (Hardis)
• 1986-04 — V08 N04 — Inside Mac/LaserWriter/AppleTalk trilogy (Trusal)
• Throughout 1986 — Excel, HFS, DTP threads continue

Significance

The Mac Plus moved the Mac from "interesting prototype" to "real business computer." The combination with LaserWriter Plus + PageMaker + Excel created the Apple Desktop Publishing market, the first proven Mac killer-app workflow.

Connections

• Macintosh Plus reference
• LaserWriter Plus reference
• Apple Desktop Publishing
• Microsoft Excel on Mac — same launch window
• HFS Filesystem — introduced with Mac Plus / System 3.0
• Apple September 1985 Announcement — the previous big event
• Apple IIGS Launch — the next big event (Sep 1986)