Apple Mac 30th anniversary: Tracking the Mac through time

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the original Macintosh - a seminal device in the world of computing, which helped to push the industry forward and heralded a loyal fan base.

The first generation device ran Mac OS 1.0 on a 9in monitor and was powered by an 8MHz processor with 128KB of RAM. There were two serial ports, space for a 3.5in Floppy drive and a handle on top.

As Apple describes in a tribute on its website: "It was designed to be so easy to use that people could actually use it."

A range of products have spawned from this initial creation. We take a look at the evolution the first fruit-themed computer has gone through over the last three decades.

1984 - The original Macintosh Apple's first effort at a personal computer was aimed at making computing easy, greeting users with a smiley face.

"At the time, most people didn't even know how to use [a PC]. But thanks to the simple graphical interface of the Macintosh, they didn't have to," Apple noted in a tribute.

The $2495 Macintosh was introduced to the world via Ridley Scott's famous "1984" commercial, which debuted at the Super Bowl and is still one of the world's most talked about adverts.

1985 - Macintosh XL Apple reworked an older machine, the Lisa, to run Mac OS on 1 MB of RAM beneath a 12in monochrome screen. It was the last computer Apple released before firing Steve Jobs.

1986 - Macintosh Plus The Macintosh Plus introduced the SCSI port, allowing the computer to use external printers and hard drives. It remained in production until 1990, making it the longest-produced Mac ever built.

1987 - Macintosh II The sequel to Apple's desktop PC arrived three years later, bringing support for colour displays. It was also the first personal computer that didn't need extra upgrades to display true colour photorealistic images.

1988 - Macintosh IIx The confusingly named Macintosh IIx was an incremental upgrade to the II with improved specs.