Macbook Air storage / Photo library

bszorad,

We're glad to hear that information was helpful.

Check out more details about turning off iCloud Photos on your Mac below from Get help with iCloud Photos:

"How do I turn off iCloud Photos on only one device?

You can turn off iCloud Photos on a single device when you follow these steps:

• On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos, then turn off iCloud Photos.
• On your Mac, open the Photos app, then choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud, then deselect iCloud Photos.
• On your Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD, go to Settings > Accounts > iCloud. Under Photos, press Select to turn off iCloud Photos.

If you have Optimize Storage turned on, you might not have all of your original photos and videos on your device. To download the original photos and videos on your iOS device, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos and select Download and Keep Originals. On your Mac, open Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud, then select Download Originals to this Mac. Keep your device plugged in to power and connected to the internet. After your originals download, you can turn off iCloud Photos. You can also select the photos and videos that you want to download from iCloud.com.

Before you turn off iCloud Photos, you might want to make a copy of your photos and videos."

Regards.

Hi there bszorad,

We understand you have some questions about the storage on your new MacBook Air.

If you enabled iCloud Photos on your Mac, this may be what's accounting for that storage usage.

Learn more about storage on your Mac here: See used and available storage space on your Mac

In regard to your question about the System storage, check out the note below:

"System Data: Contains files that don’t fall into the categories listed here. This category primarily includes files and data used by the system, such as log files, caches, VM files, and other runtime system resources. Also included are temporary files, fonts, app support files, and plug-ins. You can’t manage the contents of this category. The contents are managed by macOS, and the category varies in size depending on the current state of your Mac. You can manage your data that falls outside the other categories using Finder or the 3rd party apps that created it."

This page may also help: Free up storage space on your Mac

We hope this helps.