What is the best OS to run on ARM-based SOCs like the RPi?

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5

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22

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Feb 4, 2021

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

5 Options Considered

Best OS to run on ARM-based SOCs like the RPi	Price	License	OS Family
-- RISC OS	-	-	-
-- GNU+Linux	-	mostly GPL2	UNIX-like (GNU/Linux)
-- Chromium OS	-	mostly BSD and GPL	Linux (ChromiumOS-based)
-- Android	-	mainly Apache 2.0	Linux (AOSP-based)
-- NetBSD	0	-	-

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score 7 · Answer 1

RISC OS

Top Pro

Drag n Drop

Uses DnD for almost anything. See More

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score 3 · Answer 2

GNU+Linux

Top Pro

Unix-like

It is a Unix clone. See More

Top Con

Not so great touchscreen support

The most desktops are made for the use with keyboard and mouse, but there exist some specialized distributions with touch or controller input. See More

Specs

License:mostly GPL2

OS Family:UNIX-like (GNU/Linux)

Top Pro

GNU-userland

Uses the same userland as other GNU variants. See More

Top Con

Most 3D drivers are not as fast as their Windows counterparts

The only display driver that comes close to their Windows counterpart is the nvidia driver. Both AMD and Intel drivers miss a Control Panel on Linux to adjust more settings than just your resolution they also usually much slower than their Windows counterparts. See More

Top Pro

Many different desktops to choose

Just use whatever you want. Some are lightweight, others are full of extravagant features. There is a flavor for each taste. See More

Top Con

Often limited by decisions of the Kernel developers

Support for the latest features in Linux is often limited by their kernel developers, for example, Nvidia once had added patches to support Optimus on Linux, however, the kernel developers rejected those patches resulting in still no official Optimus support for Linux. See More

Top Pro

Free

You don't have to pay anything. See More

Top Con

Most Distributions are not LSB-conform

The most Distributions don't follow the Linux Standard Base which results in different package formates, package management tools, bootloaders, init-systems or even filesystem hierarchy standards. See More

Top Con

GNU Copyleft

The coplyleft in the GNU licenses make it unattractive to many developers. It s also impossible to port GPLed Linux improvements to other more open operating systems like BSD or Haiku. See More

Top Con

Frankenstein OS

The whole OS is mixed together with software from different sources. See More

Top Con

No interface guidelines

Since there are plenty of X11-Desktop environments and two big Widget Toolkits, every app works and feels differently. See More

Top Con

Many distributions

There are just too many of them to know. See More

See All

score 3 · Answer 3

Chromium OS

Top Pro

Can run Linux apps

Some distributions can run Linux apps. See More

Top Con

Made for developers and OEMs

ChromiumOS is mainly made for development, so there exist no official install images and you have to build it from source or use third party images like Arnold's or the waterfall images. See More

Specs

License:mostly BSD and GPL

Based On:Gentoo (core only)

OS Family:Linux (ChromiumOS-based)

Package Manager:Chrome Extensions

See All Specs

Top Pro

Lightweight

Because Chromium OS is designed for users who spend most of their computer time on the Web, it is intended for use in computers with little local storage and fast boot-up times. See More

Top Con

No auto-upgrade (unlike Chrome OS)

Chrome OS auto-upgrade the system, but Chromium OS does not. It's possible that they're thinking about adding that feature from the design doc. See More

Top Pro

Safe and requires little to no maintenant

Since you only have the browser, you cannot install applications (outside Chrome Apps which are decently protected by their limited API and the Chrome Web Store). This means no harmful virus, and also nearly no way you can screw your system. Everything will just work. See More

Top Pro

Some Distributions have Android app support

FydeOS has support for Android apps. See More

Top Pro

Minimalistic interface

Chromium's system UI uses as little screen space as possible by combining apps and standard web pages into a minimal tab strip: While existing operating systems have web tabs and native applications in two separate strips, Chromium OS combines these, giving access to everything from one strip. The tab is the equivalent of a desktop application's title bar; the frame containing the tabs is a simple mechanism for managing sets of those applications and pages. See More

See All

score 2 · Answer 4

Android

Top Con

Officially only available for OEMs

If you want to install it for your custom project you have to build it from source or rely on distributions/ports like Bliss OS or LineageOS. See More

Top Pro

Plenty of Apps

There is an app for every task. See More

Specs

License:mainly Apache 2.0

Based On:Android Open Source Project (AOSP)

OS Family:Linux (AOSP-based)

Package Manager:APK, Various app stores

See All Specs

Top Pro

Great touch support

Since it is mainly created for phones and tablets. See More

Top Pro

Open source

The AOSP (Android Open Source Project) is the software stack for the Android OS. It is led by Google. The fact that Android is an open source software has led to many custom Android variants. It also is a big assurance of Android's safety in terms of privacy. See More

See All

score 2 · Answer 5

NetBSD

Top Con

Lack of drivers

It lacks drivers for some new devices. See More

Top Pro

Architecture portability

It's the most portable OS in the world when considering what architectures it can run on. It runs on very wide range of hardware, from toaster to satellites. This of course does not mean it supports drivers for many consumer facing products making it a difficult solution to just boot up and use when compared to other OSs. See More

Specs

Based On:Research Unix>Berkeley Software Distribution>386BSD

Official Supported Architectures:https://www.netbsd.org/ports/

Top Con

Not everything is ported

Not all architectures are supported equally. See More

Top Pro

It's real

Under NetBSD csh is csh not tcsh; also vi is real vi not elvis, nvi or vim. It's ideal for purists. See More

Top Pro

It's Open Source

It's open source with a BSD License, which is much more business friendly than GPL. It's the real ancestor of Mac, that is being used nowadays. See More

What is the best OS to run on ARM-based SOCs like the RPi?

5 Options Considered

RISC OS

My Recommendation for RISC OS

My Recommendation for RISC OS

Drag n Drop

GNU+Linux

My Recommendation for GNU+Linux

My Recommendation for GNU+Linux

Unix-like

Not so great touchscreen support

GNU-userland

Most 3D drivers are not as fast as their Windows counterparts

Many different desktops to choose

Often limited by decisions of the Kernel developers

Free

Most Distributions are not LSB-conform

GNU Copyleft

Frankenstein OS

No interface guidelines

Many distributions

Chromium OS

My Recommendation for Chromium OS

My Recommendation for Chromium OS

Can run Linux apps

Made for developers and OEMs

Lightweight

No auto-upgrade (unlike Chrome OS)

Safe and requires little to no maintenant

Some Distributions have Android app support

Minimalistic interface

Android

My Recommendation for Android

My Recommendation for Android

Officially only available for OEMs

Plenty of Apps

Great touch support

Open source

NetBSD

My Recommendation for NetBSD

My Recommendation for NetBSD

Lack of drivers

Architecture portability

Not everything is ported

It's real

It's Open Source

Clean source code

Adhere to the standard

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