Storage used not adding up

[Honey_crisp]

Is this a bug?

Total used: 25.08 GB
Messages: 31.09 GB

 

[MacCheetah3]

My guess is the discrepancy involves “purgeable” files (e.g., things like message attachments and other cached data.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/why-is-sequoia-taking-154gb-of-system-data-need-to-clear-it.2453366/post-33809373

 

[ignatius345]

Space used is a bit wonky under APFS. Here's some detail:

Free space on an APFS volume is an illusion

You’re in control of a traditional file system, but with snapshots, clones, sparse files and other volumes sharing free space, APFS isn’t as simple.

eclecticlight.co

 

[Fishrrman]

I find that "storage" pane (as shown above) unreliable and never use it...

 

[Honey_crisp]

Thanks guys, it's weird that a basic view of used/free space is unreliable. I did find the System Report > Storage numbers to be more accurate but users shouldn't have to dig into a technical report to find out how much space they truly have available. /rant

 

[MacCheetah3]

Thanks guys, it's weird that a basic view of used/free space is unreliable. I did find the System Report > Storage numbers to be more accurate but users shouldn't have to dig into a technical report to find out how much space they truly have available. /rant

It’s more of Apple being mistaken on the importance of transparency, at least in some cases. In the Storage section, there should be a note about purgeable data, or at least an info button or “Learn more” link, for example. The Storage pane already has more detailed sections, how well thought out can certainly be a debate. Nonetheless, there are dug down areas, such as installer and backup file management in iOS Files (info button) as well as the Apple Intelligence footprint in macOS (info button) — although, other system-level footprints would probably be useful to outline.

It’s like the iPhone 6 throttling fiasco. Apple wasn’t wrong to tweak the hardware behavior to prevent instability with aging batteries. However, to just do it without explanation is typically not well received.

 

[Honey_crisp]

It’s more of Apple being mistaken on the importance of transparency, at least in some cases. In the Storage section, there should be a note about purgeable data, or at least an info button or “Learn more” link, for example. The Storage pane already has more detailed sections, how well thought out can certainly be a debate. Nonetheless, there are dug down areas, such as installer and backup file management in iOS Files (info button) as well as the Apple Intelligence footprint in macOS (info button) — although, other system-level footprints would probably be useful to outline.

It’s like the iPhone 6 throttling fiasco. Apple wasn’t wrong to tweak the hardware behavior to prevent instability with aging batteries. However, to just do it without explanation is typically not well received.

I guess you’re right. Just like how 256gb isn’t really 256gb - which to be fair to Apple they have an explanation on the back of the box. I do like the idea of an info button, or at least a text disclaimer that the numbers may not always add up.