Apple Retail Stores Receive Golden Master Copies of OS X Lion

lioninstallApple appears to be setting up the final pieces for OS X Lion's launch this week. A previous report even pinpointed the release as early as Wednesday morning.

We've now been able to confirm that Apple Retail stores have begun receiving final copies of OS X Lion today. The installations have come on hard drive and are meant for the Apple Retail demo computers on the store floor. This, of course, doesn't guarantee a specific launch date, but brings Apple one step closer to launch.

Apple has said that OS X Lion will be launching in July but has not publicly committed to a launch date. Apple seeded the Golden Master version of OS X Lion to developers on July 1st. The Golden Master version is typically the final shipping version of the operating system. Apple is also widely expected to refresh the MacBook Air and Mac Mini computers around the same time as Lion's launch.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
walmart new ornametns

Walmart Black Friday Deals Begin Today With Low Prices on Headphones, TVs, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 7:55 am PST by
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...

Top Rated Comments

iStudentUK Avatar
187 months ago
So soon we will be able to replace all the "where is Lion" threads with "Lion bugs" threads!
Score: 85 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gibbz Avatar
187 months ago
So soon we will be able to replace all the "where is Lion" threads with "Lion bugs" threads!

Yeah, I am awaiting the general comments of "Lion is the worst OS ever! Why did Apple remove the ____ feature? <Insert additional snarky comment about being able to write better software despite not being an engineer.> Lion is clear proof Apple only cares about the iPhones. These hipster kids and their iOS devices. When I was a nerd back in the 80's, Apple was a rebel company who cared about their users. Now they sold out and are like Microsoft."
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
187 months ago
Isn't this tantamount to admitting that the Icloud and the Apple Application Store is a failure?

Why would Apple insist that customers download 10.7 from the network, but send physical copies to their own stores?

The mind boggles at the duplicity.

I imagine that it's actually a disk image of Lion tailored for the retail experience, with a few iTunes tracks, pictures, videos and the concierge thing that all the demo Mac's get refreshed with every night. It'll be less effort for the tech guys in the Apple stores just to swap a drive in the store's server than to have to initiate, monitor and execute a download.

Purely speculation on my behalf though, just adding my thoughts to your own.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iGuardian Avatar
187 months ago
Isn't this tantamount to admitting that the Icloud and the Apple Application Store is a failure?

Why would Apple insist that customers download 10.7 from the network, but send physical copies to their own stores?

The mind boggles at the duplicity.

iHypocrisy. Physical media's still the best solution for some people is it Apple? :rolleyes:

Seriously? Downloading Lion from the App Store and installing it on that machine is fine for the average user. The average user does not need to install an operating system on 20+ computers at once right before store opening.

These are different situations entirely. Different situations require different means. This is in no way “hypocrisy."
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NAG Avatar
187 months ago
So soon we will be able to replace all the "where is Lion" threads with "Lion bugs" threads!

As well as "why does my ppc application not work" threads.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mentholiptus Avatar
187 months ago
Meh.

I'm going to miss the Mac operating system. There have been rough releases over the years, but all and all, it's been a good run. This final version of Snow Leopard turned out to be the best of them all. Apple sure went out with a bang on that one. I can see using it for the next year until applications no longer run on it. After that, I guess I'll figure out where to go from there.

Not sure what's in store for the future, but so far... things are looking dismal for the ol' Macintosh. But I guess if you are into iToys like the iPhone, or iPad... then I suppose there's a lot to be looking forward to, so have fun with that.
Jesus, what a bunch of ____ing drama queens.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)