Standalone update installers for macOS seem to have had their day at Apple: So far, neither the so-called combo nor delta updates are available for download for macOS Big Sur, although the manufacturer is using macOS 11. 0.1 and macOS 10. 1 has already shipped two updates for the latest version of the operating system .

Delta and Combo Updates Previously Apple – up to macOS Catalina – each with a small update available as a single download with which Macs can be updated from one macOS version to the next higher – the “Delta Update”. There is also up to macOS 10. 15. 7 a “combo update” as a standalone installer that can also be downloaded directly from Apple’s website. The combo update makes it possible to bring every previous point update of the respective macOS version to the current status, e.g. from macOS 10 . 15. 0 on 10. 15. Jump 7.

Apple has announced the lack of stand-alone updates for Big Sur not yet expressed. If you still want combo and / or delta updates, you should definitely give feedback to the company, writes developer Howard Oakley – otherwise it is “most likely” that these will no longer be available.

The change may be related to the system drive signed by Apple in Big Sur and a changed update routine in which patches are already installed in the background and the user only has to restart afterwards – this should make the update much faster.

Combo update can eliminate problems End users can use the software update integrated in the operating system or an older version keep up to date with the update function of the Mac App Store. It is also still possible to load a complete installer for macOS 10. 1 from the App Store and use it to create a boot stick, for example. However, the download of the complete operating system installer with around 13 GB is significantly larger than the previous combo updates.

Combo updates serve Mac users as a practical and convenient troubleshooting tool: If problems arise after updating macOS, these could in some cases be solved simply by installing the combo update. The standalone updates are also useful for updating several Macs, especially with slow or unreliable Internet connections.

(lbe)