Apple users who only have dial-up access to the Internet can forget about upgrading at all. Most DSL users get 3 Mbps or less, so their times will be longer. “As I understand it, Lion will be a 4GB download, and will not be available on DVD at all.Īssuming I have a steady 5 Mbps download speed, that's over 2 hours to download.
Reader SamD stopped by Softpedia to read OS X 10.7 Lion System Requirements, How to Install, and came to the following conclusion: Users are not only disappointed to hear that Lion will not be sold on media (DVD or USB thumb drive, like the ones shipping with MacBook Airs), but also that installing Lion will require an Internet connection, and a strong one at that. However, many end users will not appreciate Apple’s software requirement, namely to have the latest version of Snow Leopard with the Mac App Store installed.Īpple has confirmed that Lion is going to be distributed solely through the Mac App Store as a digital download available to those running the current-generation Mac OS. The necessity to have a compatible Mac configuration is easily justified - advanced software requires advanced hardware.
Indeed, Apple appears to have been reluctant in offering everyone a chance to grab Lion and install the software without too many dependencies. “Do I have to buy 10.6 for my iMac THEN ALSO buy Lion when it comes out?”, Slimjimmery asks.
Like I mentioned above instead of a DVD they will send you an email with a link to download Lion.Mac users still rocking OS X 10.5 Leopard are feeling left out in the cold by Apple whose upgrade policy for OS X 10.7 Lion says they have to go through version 10.6 of the operating system - Snow Leopard.Ī thread titled “I want to move from 10.5.8 to Lion…” (and many others like it) over at Apple Support Communities reveals that users are confused about the Lion upgrade procedure. If you really want Lion then give Apple a call and order it for $20. Once you are on Snow Leopard you can go directly to Mountain Lion and save yourself $20. Going from Snow Leopard to Lion is $20 and going from Lion to Mountain Lion is $20. Like I mentioned above, before you order Lion make sure you don’t want or can’t to go to Mountain Lion. Read my post “ How to upgrade from Leopard (10.5) to Snow Leopard (10.6)” for more details on how to do that. If you can’t go to Mountain Lion, then you still need to get Snow Leopard installed because you can’t go from Leopard to Lion or Mountain Lion directly, you must first get Snow Leopard (10.6). Go from Leopard to Snow Leopard ($20) then Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion ($20). If you do you’ll spend an extra $20 because each upgrade is $20. If your machine can go all the way up to Mountain Lion (10.8) then don’t bother going to Lion.
10.5.x is Leopard and 10.6.x is Snow Leopard. The number under the Apple logo is the version you are on. You can find out what OS X version you are on by clicking on the Apple icon, then select the “About This Mac” menu item. Order it, get the email, download it and you are good to go. It’s only $20 from Apple and you are 100% sure it is the right version and not a scam.Īpple will send you an email to download Lion, instead of sending you DVDs like they do with Snow Leopard. Don’t bother with 3rd party sources (eBay, Amazon, Craigslist, etc). Lion (10.7) isn’t available to purchase thru the App Store, but you can still get it for $20 from Apple directly by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE (1-80).
As of today the latest version of Mac OS X is Mountain Lion, so you might as well just install that, but you don’t want to or if you machine doesn’t support it then you’ll want to go with Lion. Apple intentionally pulled it from the App Store so people would go right to Mountain Lion (10.8) instead. As you may have noticed Lion (10.7) is no longer available in the App Store.