The example in Preview the Update Operation shows that a new BE would be created for this update if you ran this command without the -n option. If you run this command without the -n option, you see the following message at the end of the update output:
A clone of currentBE exists and has been updated and activated. On the next boot the Boot Environment newBE will be mounted on '/'. Reboot when ready to switch to this updated BE.
The current BE is not modified. All changes are made in the new BE.
Explicitly specifying a new BE is the safest way to install or update. See Boot Environment Policy Image Properties for information about when BEs are created. You might want to use the --be-name option to give the new BE a meaningful name. The new BE is activated so this new environment is booted by default the next time you boot the system. If you do not want the new BE to be the default on the next reboot, use the --no-be-activate option with the pkg update command. You can change the default boot BE at any time by using the beadm activate command.
If you are satisfied with your new BE, you can destroy your old one.