It is a more powerful version of the Macintosh IIcx, released earlier that year, and shares the same compact case design.

[2] The Macintosh Quadra 700 was introduced at the end of 1991 as Apple's mainstream workstation product to replace the IIci, albeit at a significantly higher price point: by this time, Apple authorized resellers were offering entry-level IIci systems for US$4,000 or less, whereas the Quadra 700 entered the market above US$6,000.

The IIci introduced several technical and architectural enhancements, some of which were important in preparing for System 7 (which was then called the Blue project) and would influence future Macintoshes, though some of them came at the cost of compatibility: The IIci was one of the most popular and longest-lived Macintosh models of the 20th century.

[4] For a short time in 1989, before the introduction of the 40 MHz Macintosh IIfx, the IIci was the fastest Mac available.

[1] The signatures of the product design team can be seen in the molded plastic of the case if one removes the motherboard.