ZX Spectrum +2

When Amstrad bought Sinclair's computer business, the ZX Spectrum +2 of 1986 was the first new machine to emerge, and it bore Amstrad's all-in-one stamp from the start. Housed in a grey case, it folded a cassette deck right into the body, doing away with the need for a separate tape recorder.

It was a practical, consumer-friendly package: fully compatible with the Spectrum's huge existing library, and equipped with the improved memory and sound of the 128 generation. For newcomers especially, here was a Spectrum you could simply unbox and use, with no extra bits to buy or wires to untangle.

The +2 kept Britain's most beloved games machine selling strongly into the later 1980s under its new owner, blending Sinclair's much-loved software heritage with Amstrad's knack for sensible, all-in-one design. It was the sound of the Spectrum settling comfortably into a new chapter.