The first 601 processors were introduced in an IBM RS/6000 workstation in October 1993 (alongside its more powerful multichip cousin IBM POWER2 line of processors) and the first Apple Power Macintoshes on March 14, 1994. The 601 was the first advanced single-chip implementation of the POWER/PowerPC architecture designed on a crash schedule to establish PowerPC in the marketplace and cement the AIM alliance.
The introduction of the 601 processors occurred in October 1993 within an IBM RS/6000 workstation alongside its more powerful multichip counterpart, the IBM POWER2 line. This was followed by Apple's launch of its first Power Macintoshes on March 14, 1994. The 601 represented the first advanced single-chip embodiment of the POWER/PowerPC architecture, designed under a tight schedule to establish PowerPC in the market and reinforce the AIM alliance.