You weren’t alone if you believed that Apple would only be making Mac OS X Lion available to existing customers as a download from the Mac App Store. For Mac users with limited ability to get online, or whose web connections aren’t as speedy or reliable as they’d like, the prospect of having no option other than to download the 3.5GB update was not an appealing one.
Thankfully, though, as AppleInsider reports, Apple has confirmed that it will be making other options available to ensure that you can infuse your Mac with all that Lion goodness, without having to exhaust your internet connection.
From next month, Apple will be selling Lion on USB thumb drives, exclusively through its online store… but the price of such convenience is a high one. Compared with the $29.99 cost of downloading Lion from the Mac App Store, the $69 cost of the USB thumb drive option is steep indeed, especially given the low cost of 4GB drives. Wired.co.uk reports that in the UK, the thumb drive option will cost £55, versus the £20.99 cost of downloading the update.
There is one further option available, though: if you’re able to get to an Apple Store, the company has issued an open invitation to customers to download the update in its retail stores. You won’t need to wait until August either – you can get down to your local Apple Store and start downloading today.
While the majority of Mac users will opt for the simplicity and low cost of the App Store download, it’s at least good to know that there are other options available to feed your need for some Lion action if the download thing just isn’t happening for you.