The Apple II did have heirs, lots of them, right up to the late 1980s which meant it was a viable platform for well over a decade. From the ill fated Apple III

The Apple II did have heirs, lots of them, right up to the late 1980s which meant it was a viable platform for well over a decade. From the ill fated Apple III to the various smaller/faster/better IIc/GS/e and whatnot. It's interesting to watch "The Computer Chronicles" from the 1980s on Youtube and be reminded of how diverse the personal computer industry was back then. Apple had a dual strategy for far longer than is generally remembered, the Macintosh was a hit but it wasn't a home run for a long time.