Keatah

But the Apple 1 was what came in the hobby computer era, and the Apple II in the home computer era. So I can understand the Apple 1 being a crappy computer in today's standards but the Apple II not so much.

Don't get me wrong, the Apple II was a much better computer than the PET and the TRS-80, but that was pretty much the only time the Apple II had a big appeal IMO.

The Apple I, Apple II, and Apple II+ were like single board micro trainers because of their design philosophy and number of discrete logic chips - not because of their temporal proximity to the revolution in home computing. The Apple II was built the old-school way with off the shelf parts. Parts that any engineer or hobbyist could purchase. There was no custom integration like in the Vic-20, C64, Atari 400/800, or TI-99/4A.

Incidentally this was also true of the first IBM PC. IBM had picked parts from Intel's vast selection of 8080/8085 and 8088/8086 support chips. While "sort-of" custom in their own right and not generic TTL logic, they might as well have been because they were sold in bulk to many companies for a diverse array of products. And licensed out as well.