In Monterey, these haven’t changed much since Big Sur. However, those small differences are significant, particularly on M1 Macs.
Volume Group
When you try ejecting a single volume of a bootable volume group on an external disk, other volumes are also ejected even though you chose to keep them mounted.
The split startup volumes in Catalina, Big Sur and Monterey can be disorientating. Here’s how to find your way in the Finder and Terminal.
macOS 12 Monterey promises consolidation and improvement, even truth and reconciliation perhaps. But Shortcuts and Universal Control promise strongly.
Detailed account of disk, volume and folder layouts on Big Sur’s boot disks, complete with roadmaps which are downloadable as PDFs.
Boot disk volume layout is intricate in Big Sur. M1 Macs lose the EFI partition on their internal SSDs and gain two more for APFS. Contents of /System/Volumes has also changed.
Diagrams of the layout of volumes on boot disks for macOS 10.13 to 11, covering both Intel and M1 models.
Volume layouts are fairly straightforward until you have two or more bootable systems with Volume Groups. Details and advice for those with macOS 10.15 or 11.
A complete guide to the structure and layout of APFS startup disks from High Sierra to Big Sur (Intel), together with tear-out PDF charts.
Provision of maintenance procedures and tools is at the heart of software engineering, but not in macOS.
The Eclectic Light Company 