What is the easiest Linux distribution for Mac users to get acquainted with?

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Aug 30, 2023

Last
Updated

elementary OS vs Deepin vs Xubuntu

vs BackSlash Linux vs Arch Linux vs Pear OS vs Fedora vs Ubuntu MATE vs Ubuntu vs Red Star Linux

Specs

Based On

Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment

Pantheon

Init-System

Systemd

Origin

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

Main Usage

macOS-like Desktop, Showcase for the Pantheon Destop

Release Type

Binary

Great For

Professionals, Creatives and Students looking for an alternative

Package Manager

OS Family

Release Schedule

Minimum System Specs

Initial Release

Current Linux Kernel

Last Officially Updated

Minimum Available Storage

Minimum System RAM

Display Server

Gnome

Languages

Removable storage

Based On

Debian

Default Desktop Environment

Init-System

Origin

China

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

Main Usage

Desktop, Showcase for the Deepin Desktop

Release Type

Great For

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

OS Family

GNU+Linux

Release Schedule

Minimum System Specs

Initial Release

Current Linux Kernel

Last Officially Updated

Minimum Available Storage

Minimum System RAM

Display Server

Gnome

Languages

Removable storage

Based On

Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment

Xfce

Init-System

Systemd

Origin

Isle of Man

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

Main Usage

Ubuntu with preinstalled Xfce desktop

Release Type

Great For

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager

OS Family

Release Schedule

Point follows UBuntu)

Minimum System Specs

Initial Release

Current Linux Kernel

Last Officially Updated

Minimum Available Storage

Minimum System RAM

Display Server

Gnome

Languages

Removable storage

Based On

Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment

BackSlash Shell

Init-System

Systemd

Origin

Official Supported Architectures

Main Usage

Release Type

Great For

Package Manager

OS Family

Release Schedule

Almost Annual

Minimum System Specs

64-bit Processor, 2GB RAM, 40GB HDD, 128MB Graphics

Initial Release

Current Linux Kernel

Last Officially Updated

Minimum Available Storage

Minimum System RAM

Display Server

Gnome

Languages

Removable storage

Based On

NONE

Default Desktop Environment

N/A

Init-System

Systemd

Origin

Canada

Official Supported Architectures

x86-64 (AMD64)

Main Usage

Desktop with latest software

Release Type

Binary

Great For

Package Manager

Pacman

OS Family

GNU+Linux

Release Schedule

Rolling

Minimum System Specs

Initial Release

2002

Current Linux Kernel

5.16.0

Last Officially Updated

2020-05-16

Minimum Available Storage

800MiB

Minimum System RAM

512MiB

Display Server

Gnome

Languages

Removable storage

Based On

Default Desktop Environment

Init-System

Origin

Official Supported Architectures

Main Usage

Release Type

Great For

Package Manager

OS Family

Release Schedule

Minimum System Specs

Initial Release

Current Linux Kernel

Last Officially Updated

Minimum Available Storage

Minimum System RAM

Display Server

Gnome

Languages

Removable storage

Based On

Independent

Default Desktop Environment

GNOME

Init-System

Systemd

Origin

USA

Official Supported Architectures

ARMv7 (armhfp, arm-32), ARMv8 (aarch64, arm-64), x86_64, PPC64LE, MIPS-64el, MIPS-el, RISC-V, s390x

Main Usage

Release Type

Binary

Great For

Package Manager

RPM Package Manager, DNF package manager

OS Family

GNU+Linux

Release Schedule

Point (6 Months)

Minimum System Specs

Initial Release

2003

Current Linux Kernel

6.08

Last Officially Updated

Minimum Available Storage

Minimum System RAM

Display Server

Wayland (default), X11

Gnome

Languages

Removable storage

Based On

Debian>Ubuntu

Default Desktop Environment

MATE

Init-System

Systemd

Origin

United Kingdom

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

Main Usage

Ubuntu with preinstalled MATE desktop

Release Type

Great For

Package Manager

Debian Package Manger

OS Family

Release Schedule

Point (follows ubuntu releases)

Minimum System Specs

Initial Release

Current Linux Kernel

Last Officially Updated

Minimum Available Storage

Minimum System RAM

Display Server

Gnome

Languages

Removable storage

Based On

Debian Stable(core) Testing/Unstable(universe/multiverse)

Default Desktop Environment

GNOME

Init-System

Systemd

Origin

Great Britain

Official Supported Architectures

amd64

Main Usage

Desktop

Release Type

Binary

Great For

Package Manager

Debian Package Manager, Snap Store

OS Family

GNU/Linux

Release Schedule

Point (5 Year LTS / 6 Month Releases)

Minimum System Specs

Initial Release

Current Linux Kernel

Last Officially Updated

Minimum Available Storage

Minimum System RAM

Display Server

Gnome

Languages

German

Removable storage

Virtual Box

Based On

Default Desktop Environment

Init-System

Origin

Official Supported Architectures

Main Usage

Release Type

Great For

Package Manager

OS Family

Release Schedule

Minimum System Specs

Initial Release

Current Linux Kernel

Last Officially Updated

Minimum Available Storage

Minimum System RAM

Display Server

Gnome

Languages

Removable storage

Pros + Cons

Pro
Simplicity, limited configurability

Sane defaults with less confusion for new users.

Comment

Pro
Lightweight & fast

Runs well on limited-resources hardware, including netbooks / chromebooks.

Comment

Pro
UI design consistency

Excellent uniformity between all the stock application and an overall extremely clean design with simple animations.

Comment

Pro
Beautiful and user-friendly

This distribution promises you a very tailored user experience and it does deliver on that promise. The developers provide you with a custom desktop environment and a set of neat programs. And the whole desktop looks simply gorgeous.

Comment

Pro
If you like MacOSX, the UI/UX is similar

[add description]

Comment

Con
No options for upgrading versions

Elementary does not offer any way to upgrade when a new version releases, say upgrading from 5 -> 5.1. When a new version releases, users are expected to perform a fresh install.

Comment

Pro
Active Google+ community

There is a place where elementary users can ask their questions and usually get answers pretty quickly. Not only by the other users, but the devs are pretty active themselves, often engaging in the discussions on the hows, whys and plans of the os.

Comment

Pro
With new tweak tools customisation is not a problem

Now the OS is amazingly customizable.

Comment

Pro
Built on Ubuntu

Built on Ubuntu LTS with all its qualities and support.

Comment

Con
Old base and applications

The slow release schedule makes the applications outdated. It drags behind Ubuntu LTS (on which it's based) which itself drags behind Ubuntu which is often still quite far behind Arch for example.

Comment

Con
Very slow development cycle

elementary does not offer any release date for their stable releases going more with a "it's done when it's done" attitude. Making depending on newer apps a difficulty as well as a poor choice for those that need consistent release schedules for their OS.

Comment

Con
Poor Linux community reputation

The devs of elementary OS feel anyone not paying for their Ubuntu respin are not worthy of using it. Which upset a good bit of people. Obviously the core dev team have issues with their community outreach and PR.

Comment

Con
No official forums

For some reason the elementary devs do not want to have a forum for discussion making finding fixes for issues difficult to find as the only resource elementary uses is G+, which does not lend itself well to problem solving or large ongoing easily readable discussions.

Comment

Con
UI doesn't let you change anything

Every installation of elementaryOS looks excactly like the same.

Comment

Con
Emacs doesn't work

Emacs crashes due to a partial gnome library update.

Comment

Con
Window control button placement may be unintuitive to some

elementary OS has window controls on the left side of the window. It may be less intuitive to users coming from other operating systems that put window controls on the right.

Comment

Con
Upper panel requires extra spaces

The upper panel in Elementary OS requires more space. This can be a problem for computers with small monitors.

Comment

Pro
Extremely user-friendly

Comment

Pro
Innovative

Elementary OS is reinventing lots of core components.

Comment

Pro
Includes both Windows and macOS style interface

[add description]

Comment

Pro
Can be made to look like Windows easily

By default, Deepin looks kinda like macOS but it can be made to look like Windows by right-clicking on the dock and changing the mode from "Fashion Mode" to "Efficient Mode".

Comment

Pro
Based on Debian

It is based on Debian which is the best Linux distribution for desktops.

Comment

Pro
Enjoy the simplicity of Deepin's desktop

The desktop interface and apps feature an intuitive and elegant design. Moving around, sharing and searching, etc. has become simply a joyful experience.

Comment

Pro
Well-designed in every detail, developers have a professional aproach to the system

Deepin has a sane default set of apps including custom apps of their own design that gives the distro a very consistent look and feel. By working with the community on these tools as well as custom translations there is a great sense of polish when using it that is not often seen when using such a new desktop environment.

Comment

Con
It's Chinese

Made in China.

Comment

Pro
Includes a lot of packages in the official repository

The official repository of deepin OS includes over 73,000 packages.

Comment

Pro
Supports Flatpak

Deepin OS supports Flatpak. It also has some Flatpak programs installed by default.

Comment

Pro
Blur and transparent design

Deepin has a blur and transparent design throughout the OS, which makes it one of the most beautiful Linux distros.

Comment

Pro
Automatically cleans package cache

Deepin automatically cleans package cache. Cleaning package cache is a good thing as it will make the OS much faster and lighter.

Comment

Pro
Quite lightweight

Deepin 15.7 is lighter than Windows 10 and Ubuntu.

Comment

Pro
Great support for graphics cards

Deepin OS includes a program called "Deepin Graphics Driver Manager" which can easily install a good driver for the graphics card.

Comment

Pro
Rolling release

It is a rolling release Linux distribution which is quite popular these days.

Comment

Pro
Easy to install

Installing Deepin OS is very easy. Even easier than installing Ubuntu!

Comment

Pro
Launches programs faster

Programs load and launch faster in Deepin than other Linux distributions. It takes only about 3 seconds to launch Chrome.

Comment

Pro
Excellent apps

Having Deepin installed also means you have thousands of quality apps to choose from. The apps which come with installation will suit your needs to browse the Internet, listen to music, watch videos, talk with friends, editing documents or simply any task you want to do at home or in your office.

Comment

Pro
Has its own toolkit

It has its own toolkit called "Deepin Tool Kit". And the maintainers themselves use it.

Comment

Pro
Great design to the app store

The app store is gorgeous.

Comment

Pro
Easy to use

It's very easy to use. You can easily uninstall a program by going to the menu then right-clicking on the preferred app and selecting "Uninstall" option.

Comment

Pro
Very stable

Even though it is based on Debian unstable, it is still pretty stable and you will hardly ever get a dependency issue.

Comment

Pro
Not based on Ubuntu

Some people don't like Ubuntu nor its derivatives.

Comment

Pro
Exciting applications

It has some exciting applications, such as Deepin Graphics Driver Manager which can easily change between free and proprietary drivers without any issue.

Comment

Pro
Company behind it

The Wuhan Deepin Technology is behind this Linux distribution.

Comment

Pro
VLC media player works without any issue

In some cases, VLC media player has some problems with Ubuntu or Ubuntu-based Linux distros. That isn't the case with Deepin.

Comment

Pro
Best for daily use

[add description]

Comment

Pro
Gives warning messages when upgrading packages using apt

Deepin uses their own modified version of apt. When there is a distribution upgrade available and if we try to upgrade by running "sudo apt upgrade", then this modified version of apt gives this warning message, "DDE programs will work abnormally if run this command. Run sudo apt dist-upgrade or sudo apt full-upgrade instead."

Comment

Pro
Includes both Windows and macOS style interface

[add description]

Comment

Pro
Great performance

Xubuntu is very fast and makes good use of resources.

Comment

Pro
Customizable

Official distro of XFCE, one of the most customizable desktop environments. In XFCE you can create as many tasks bars as you need and configure every one of their elements and behaviours. You can also change any icon, font, color... etc. Literally there's nothing you can't change in GUI.

Comment

Pro
Comes with lightweight applications

Xubuntu is designed as a lightweight operating system and Linux distro. It uses XFCE by default and comes packed with XFCE applications which are generally pretty lightweight.

Comment

Pro
Quick boot time

Boots at about double the speed of most distributions.

Comment

Con
XFCE development is slow

The desktop environment used in Xubuntu has not been updated in over two years and is developed at a snail's pace.

Comment

Con
UI is pretty generic without customization

The default XFCE UI is pretty generic and sometimes ugly unless customized to suit the user's needs and liking. Customization in XFCE is easier than on Unity, but still hard for beginners.

Comment

Con
Redundant

There is absolutely no reason to install it, since it uses the same package repositories as Ubuntu and you can transform any Ubuntu install into a Xubuntu install.

Comment

Pro
Better device support

BackSlash runs on Linux HWE Kernel which is always up to date meaning better device support and more available drivers for newer devices.

Comment

Pro
Runs Windows Apps

Runs Windows Apps through integrated Wine Library.

Comment

Pro
It provides a more seamless look alike macOS

It gives a more consistent look than other distributions and looks more alike macOS.

Comment

Pro
Consistent look all over

Consistent look all over the OS with BackSlash Shell with GTK and Qt applications.

Comment

Con
Bugs are not fixed fast enough

Since Backslash is a new OS, it doesn't have a lot of users who would report the bugs and contribute to solving the issues, so the development of the OS is currently pretty slow.

Comment

Pro
This is the default value

[add description]

Comment

Pro
It's a brand new OS aimed at solving perstant problems in older distros

Backslash tries to improve on some shortcomings of its predecessor - ElementaryOS. These mainly have to do with the original OS's restriction of the right-click menu, minimizing icons, etc.

Comment

Con
You have to install everything by hand on a command line

This may be a CON for a lot of people that are new to Linux but a PRO to those who actually want to learn something new.

Comment

Con
Uses Systemd

[add description]

Comment

Con
Not so great overall

Apart from the ArchBuildSystem/AUR, which brings you very quickly newer package versions, there is not really much where Arch Linux shines. You get better package managers with other systems. The most Linux distributions are far more stable than Arch. You learn more about Linux by using LFS or a source based distribution. You can customize the system much more in LFS or Gentoo.

Comment

Con
Highly egotistical community

[add description]

Comment

Con
Not really for desktop

More like for posting screenshots on Reddit.

Comment

Con
Fragile packages

Updating an Arch system is always a gamble. The problem could be as simple as a package having a bug causing a program to crash on start or it may be something bigger like the WiFi or Bluetooth no longer working. There is also the slight chance the system may not even boot at all after a large update. If the user does not plan to read the forums weekly/daily or update fairly often, things can go wrong very fast.

Comment

Con
Instability can be an issue

Sometimes you can have a surprise, but in most cases it can be fixed quickly.

Comment

Con
Manual install process

The installation requires a lot of manual intervention/decisions.

Comment

Con
Not for the faint of heart

You need to be very carefully with updates.

Comment

Pro
Beautiful

For anyone stuck between moving from MS to Apple a for people hat do not want the locked down nature of either, Pear OS gave you the freedom of Linux with the elegance of Apple.

Comment

Pro
Similliar

It looks like Apples MacOS.

Comment

Con
Different Icons

There is no 1/1 icons in the latest version of it, but its not a problem as modders can change it to apples icons.

Comment

Con
Includes adware

Advertisers pay to have their links or software preinstalled. Like the links to Amazon installed by default in the dock.

Comment

Con
Watermarks your files

A small price to pay, however, for such a magnificent body of work. Besides, what's the harm in Big Brother, I mean CoWPK and GMoKPA, Great Leader Kim Jon-Un, and his trusted team of freedom warriors tracking your data? After all, someone has to be responsible for executing anyone who is watching imperialist media!

Comment

Pro
Uses pirated Mac OSX UI

Since the great infallible leader basically pirated the graphics and UI from Mac OS X, Mac users should feel right a home with this one.

Comment