Build a Fruit Jam Apple Computer, Complete with 3D-Printed Apple //e Enclosure

Raspberry Pi released the RP2350 microcontroller as a pretty substantial upgrade to the very popular RP2040. Adafruit used that to build the Fruit Jam RP2350 Mini Computer, which is kind of a single-board computer, just built around the RP2350 microcontroller instead of a more substantial SoC (system-on-chip). And Adafruit just released a pair of guides that will show you how to use the Fruit Jam as an Apple //e emulator and put it in an appropriate 3D-printed enclosure.

The Adafruit Fruit Jam is not a true single-board computer, like a Raspberry Pi 5. But it has the ports and hardware, along with a powerful enough microcontroller (the RP2350), to emulate some very old computers. There are several computers from the 8-bit era that you should be able to emulate on the Fruit Jam, but this guide by Tim C is specifically about emulating the Apple //e.

You can do that using the Reload Emulator, which can make an RP2040 perform as an Apple //e, an Apple ][+, or an Oric Atmos. Bonus points if you even know what that last one is! Adafruit hosts a fork of the Reload Emulator built specifically for the Fruit Jam’s RP2350 to emulate the Apple //e. Just plug a keyboard into a USB port and a monitor into the DVI port.

Then the Ruiz Brothers took that one step further by designing an awesome 3D-printable enclosure inspired by the Apple //e. It isn’t an exact replica, but it does capture the style in a compact package. You’ll need the right accessories and peripherals to build that. It will, however, be worth your efforts.

As someone who owns an original Apple //c, I can assure you that this will be much more fun to use than the real thing — and more affordable, too.