Software lets you install and update applications, system extensions and firmware.
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Pros
Pro One click installation
To install a new application, hit search, type in its name or what it does, and click Install
. It's just that easy.
Pro Cross-platform, yet a native GNOME application
Looks great and works intuitively, regardless of which distribution you use.
Pro Shows application screenshots
Lets you see what an app looks like before installing it.
Pro makes super easy to uninstall software and it's depencies.
Pro Easy to update apps in batches
Pro Supports Flatpak
Software supports Flatpak repositories and packages.
Cons
Con Buggy
Doesn't seem to always work.
Con Wants to reboot excessively
Some packages require rebooting to update, e.g. the kernel, or core features of GNOME Shell. Most do not. GNOME Software is unable to make a good decision in this regard. This morning it wanted to reboot my laptop in order to install Nano. This is not an anomaly. It wants to reboot all the time. It's like taking a trip back to Windows 95.
Con Extremely slow updates
Slow to gather updates. Really, really slow. An update that might take dnf a few seconds to gather may take GNOME Software several minutes.
Con Confusing which versions of software to install
Some are not from the distributor, some are unofficial, and the messaging isn't super great. Also, the screenshots in the store are MUCH too low resolution to glean any really meaningful information out of.
Con Does not show how much time it will take to install an application
Doesn't show download size, package installed size, package/library installation. If your installing a KDE app will it require several hundred mb of dependencies, how long will the install take, are you maxing out a metered connection?