The PowerBook 160 is a

portable computer A portable computer is a computer designed to be easily moved from one place to another, as opposed to those designed to remain stationary at a single location such as desktops and workstations. These computers usually include a display a ...

that was released by

Apple Computer Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Co ...

along with the

PowerBook 180 The PowerBook 180 is a portable computer released by Apple Computer along with the PowerBook 160 in October 1992. At the time, it constituted the new top-of-the-range model, replacing the previous PowerBook 170. Its case design and features are ...

on October 19, 1992 and the PowerBook 165 variants were released the following year. At the time, it constituted the mid-range model replacing the previous

PowerBook 140 The PowerBook 140 is a notebook computer that was released in the first line of PowerBooks. It was the mid-range PowerBook, between the low-end 100 and the high-end 170. As with the PowerBook 170, it featured an internal floppy drive, unlike th ...

in processing power. The PowerBook 160 was sold until August 16, 1993.

Basic features

Its case design is the same as that of the

, but it shipped with the less powerful 25 MHz

Motorola 68030 The Motorola 68030 ("''sixty-eight-oh-thirty''") is a 32-bit microprocessor in the Motorola 68000 family. It was released in 1987. The 68030 was the successor to the Motorola 68020, and was followed by the Motorola 68040. In keeping with gener ...

CPU and no FPU, identically to the low-end 145. However, the PowerBook 160 came with a (diagonal)

passive matrix Passive matrix addressing is an addressing scheme used in early liquid crystal displays (LCDs). It is a matrix addressing scheme, meaning that only ''m'' + ''n'' control signals are required to address an ''m'' × ''n'' di ...

LCD screen A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liquid crystals do not emi ...

, which for the first time was capable of displaying 4-bit

grayscale In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a greyscale (more common in Commonwealth English) or grayscale (more common in American English) image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample (signal), s ...

. The 160 and the 180 were the first PowerBooks to add an external color video port like the

Macintosh Portable The Macintosh Portable is a portable computer that was designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from September 1989 to October 1991. It is the first battery-powered Macintosh, which garnered significant excitement from critic ...

before it, as well as increasing the maximum RAM to 14 MB. Both PowerBooks introduced a new power saving feature which allowed their processors to run at a slower 16 MHz rate, the same speed as the original 140. The PowerBook 160 had a 40MB SCSI hard disk drive, configurable to 80 or 120MB.

PowerBook 165 (August 1993 – July 1994)

The 165, which was introduced on August 16, 1993, added a 33 MHz processor and larger standard hard drive. Along with the

PowerBook 145B The PowerBook 140 is a notebook computer that was released in the first line of PowerBooks. It was the mid-range PowerBook, between the low-end 100 and the high-end 170. As with the PowerBook 170, it featured an internal floppy drive, unlike ...

, this would be the last of the true 100 series PowerBooks and the last Apple laptop to include two serial (printer and modem) ports. After the 165 was discontinued on July 18, 1994, its entry level descendant, the

PowerBook 150 The PowerBook 150 is a laptop personal computer created by Apple Computer which was introduced on July 13, 1994, and released on July 18, 1994. It was the last member of the PowerBook 100 series to use the original case design, the most afforda ...

, would continue to be sold until October 14, 1995, and though it used the 140 case design, its internals were actually based on the

PowerBook Duo The PowerBook Duo is a line of subnotebooks manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from 1992 until 1997 as a more compact companion to the PowerBook line. Improving upon the PowerBook 100's portability (its immediate predecessor and Apple's t ...

and

PowerBook 190 The PowerBook 190 and its companion PowerBook 190cs are laptop computers manufactured by Apple Computer as part of their PowerBook brand, introduced to the market in August 1995. The two models differ only in their screen: the 190 had a 9.5" gr ...

, a 100-series PowerBook in name only as it used the

PowerBook 5300 The PowerBook 5300 is the first generation of PowerBook laptops manufactured by Apple Computer to use the PowerPC processor. Released in August 1995, these PowerBooks were notable for being the first to feature hot-swappable expansion modu ...

's motherboard and case as well.

PowerBook 165c (February – December 1993)

Introduced on February 10, 1993, the 165c (pictured) was identical to the 165, except that it included a

68882 The Motorola 68881 and Motorola 68882 are floating-point units (FPUs) used in some computer systems in conjunction with Motorola's 32-bit 68020 or 68030 microprocessors. These coprocessors are external chips, designed before floating point math ...

FPU and had a

color LCD capable of displaying 256 colors. It was Apple's first PowerBook with a color display. As a result of the thicker color display, the exterior case lid was redesigned, more closely resembling that used on the

series. The

PowerBook 180c The PowerBook 180 is a portable computer released by Apple Computer along with the PowerBook 160 in October 1992. At the time, it constituted the new top-of-the-range model, replacing the previous PowerBook 170. Its case design and features are ...

used the same case modification. The 165c was discontinued on December 13, 1993.

Specifications

Timeline

Notes

References

{{Apple hardware before 1998

180 __NOTOC__ Year 180 ( CLXXX) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rusticus and Condianus (or, less frequently, year 933 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 180 ...

68k Macintosh computers Computer-related introductions in 1992