Steve Jobs’s first NeXT computer, introduced in 1988, was called the NeXT Computer.
The machine was designed as a powerful workstation for universities, research institutions, and business users. Its distinctive black magnesium case led to the informal nickname “the Cube,” although the official product name was NeXT Computer. It included a 17-inch monochrome display, a 25 MHz Motorola 68030 processor, and a magneto-optical disk drive.
The computer ran NeXTSTEP, an operating system built around the Unix-based Mach kernel and an object-oriented development environment. The system made it easier for developers to create sophisticated graphical applications, even though the hardware’s high price limited sales.
A common confusion is between the NeXT Computer and the NeXTcube. The NeXTcube was a later workstation introduced in 1990. NeXT’s software ultimately mattered more than its original hardware: Apple used it as the foundation for Mac OS X after acquiring NeXT.