When the Apple II was first released in 1977, programs and data were imported from standard tape cassettes or 8 inch floppy disks.

In 1978, Apple first produced floppy disk drives in the 5.25 inch format for use with the Apple II. These floppy disk drives, designed by Steve Wozniak, incorporated a variable speed controller which increased density, stability, integrity and the speed of data transfer. The technology allowed the inner and outer tracks to be read at the same linear velocity. This permitted more data to be stored on the outer tracks than the inner tracks. At the time of its introduction, this technology was unique to Apple computers.

Later Apple II models incorporated a 3.5 inch floppy disk drive.

More Information