The 16 bit computer generation peacefully "killed" the 8 bit computers.
Amstrad couldn't see this move and released the Amstrad Plus range which should have been 16 bit. (Or perhaps it should have another Z80 to get a 2x8 bit while keeping compatibility with the the old range .... why not ?)
On the other hand, Amstrad was still producing cheap 16 bit PC compatibles with pseudo EGA capacity (16 colours), so in this way it was actually a 16 bit producer.
See Amstrad PC for more information on Amstrad's ventures into the 16bit world.
Notable 16-bit machines of the era:
- Commodore Amiga (1985)
- Atari ST (1985)
- Sinclair QL (1984)
- TI-99/4 (1979)
- IBM PC (1981), PC/XT (1983), PC/AT (1984), PS/2 (1987)
- Apple Macintosh (1984)
- Apple IIGS (1986)
- NEC PC-98 (1982)
- Sharp X68000 (1987)
- MSX Turbo-R (1990)
Notable 32-bit machines of the era:
- Acorn Archimedes (1987)
- Apple Macintosh II (1987)
- FM Towns (1989)
- Atari TT (1990)