I think the reason we haven't heard many complaints about the doing away of physical media is exactly this. As long as power users can make their own offline media, there's nothing to complain about.

While I understand the utility of a USB installer, it should be mentioned that macOS Internet recovery has been around since Lion. You can choose to install latest ...

Like Lion (OS X 10.7) before it, Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8) doesn’t ship on a disc—it’s available only as an installer app downloadable from the Mac App Store ...

Mavericks (OS X 10.9) doesn’t ship on a disc. Instead, it’s available only as an installer app downloadable from the Mac App Store, and that installer doesn’t ...

How to create a bootable USB installer for macOS Sierra Your email has been sent Follow these steps to take to create a bootable USB installer drive for macOS Sierra ...

How to create a bootable USB installer drive for macOS Your email has been sent Your new Mac doesn't include an installation media. With the help of a GUI, Jack ...