Full Mac updates not only usually update the entirety of the system and then run an SIP check, but often are firmware updates for the hardware, that’s why they now have a separate setup for quick security updates, which often happen in the background, without a full update required: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102657

[–] M500@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 years ago

Thanks! I suspected they were doing something under the hood but they are not as overtly transparent in this process.

[–] maccentric@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Good info, thanks.

Any idea why it takes so long to install the OS from a fast USB drive (around 45 minutes)? The same drive installs win10 in under 5 minutes.

[–] kautau@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Good question. Honestly I’m not sure. Windows installs wipe an NTFS partition and then dump the filesystem there, bootloader is installed and OS boots, job done. My only guess would be that the Mac installer individually hashes every file for security and verifies on write. While ensuring a perfect install and secure OS, it also leads to wildly long install times.