Too Long; Didn't Read
The Apple IIgs came out on September 15, 1986. It featured a 2.8 MHz WDC 65816 CPU (the same one that powered the SNES and other similar computers of that era, a 16-bit CPU with 24-bit addressing), 256k or 1MB RAM (upgradable to 8 MB), and an Ensoniq 8-bit stereo synth (which was a welcome upgrade from the bit-speaker of the Apple II family). For reference, the original Apple II family was built around the 6502 CPU (8 bit, 16-bit addressing), and had at most 1 MB of RAM in the IIe and II+. However, it was not until 1988 that Apple had released an operating system for the new computer that was able to meaningfully leverage the newer hardware. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_GS/OS" target="_blank">GS/OS</a> was written in native 16-bit code, and more importantly, was intended to be used via its new shiny GUI.