In macOS Sequoia, announced at WWDC 2024 and now available to users in beta, Apple has relaxed the storage requirements for downloading apps from the Mac App Store. In the latest beta of macOS 15.1, users will also have the option to download apps directly to an external drive.
macOS 15 brings more changes to the Mac App Store
It has been pointed out that: 9to5MacmacOS 15.1 beta 3, released to developers on Wednesday, adds a new toggle to the Mac App Store settings that, when enabled, causes the system to automatically download and install apps larger than 1GB to an external disk of the user's choosing.
For apps under 1GB, macOS will still install them to your Mac's internal drive, but that's still good news for users who are short on storage space on their Macs.
Also, in macOS Sequoia, the Mac App Store no longer requires free storage twice the size of the app. Previously, if you wanted to install a 2GB app, your Mac needed at least 4GB of free space before the Mac App Store could start the download.
Starting with macOS 15, the App Store no longer requires 2x free space for the initial download and installation of an app. The free space requirement is now the final installed size of the app plus a small buffer. Developers should take this change into account when messaging around size requirements.
These changes will no doubt be welcomed by users, especially those with 128GB and 256GB Macs.
macOS Sequoia will be available to the public next month. However, macOS 15.1 is expected to be released to the public only in late October.
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