When comparing Pop!_OS vs Microsoft Windows 11, the Slant community recommends Pop!_OS for most people. In the question“What is the best laptop OS?” Pop!_OS is ranked 15th while Microsoft Windows 11 is ranked 57th. The most important reason people chose Pop!_OS is:
If you're a fan of flat desktop interfaces reminiscent of Material design on Android, you'll like the theme that comes as a default in Pop! OS. The desktop and title bars all use a bright turquoise theme that makes the interface feel happy and borderline retro-chic. I found it to be like something you'd find printed on a ringer t-shirt.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Pop! makes GNOME look really good
If you're a fan of flat desktop interfaces reminiscent of Material design on Android, you'll like the theme that comes as a default in Pop! OS. The desktop and title bars all use a bright turquoise theme that makes the interface feel happy and borderline retro-chic. I found it to be like something you'd find printed on a ringer t-shirt.
Pro User-friendly installer
The visually appealing and easy to use installer makes dual booting as easy as it can be.
Pro Nice gnome theme dy default
Has nice gnome theme looks really good.
Pro Ready to play games, out of the box
If you still miss how easy it was to just click-install and play games in Windows, Pop! will give you that similar expectation.
Pro A separate NVIDIA version
Most linux distros seem to hate Nvidia's graphics cards e.g. Fedora and OpenSUSE. System76 have decided to be kind. They have decided to form a good relationship with Nvidia fans and Nvidia itself. By creating a separate installation media that is dedicated for providing support to Nvidia's graphics cards. Even going as far as putting Nvidia's driver updates on Pop!_Shop for users to easily access and install.
Pro Optimized for modern hardware
Whereas normally, to use a brand new computer with a Linux OS, you would typically try to use unstable and sometimes buggy drivers - or struggle without hardware support until a stable release comes along.
Pro Made by a hardware seller
System76 is a hardware company. It configures machines to ship with Linux pre-installed. This means its entire business model centers around delivering a quality desktop Linux experience.
As a result, the company pours more attention onto the desktop. It can fix visual issues and may be able to provide a smoother overall experience than you would have installing a different version of Linux on your machine yourself. Providing Pop!_OS also empowers System76 to make certain fixes for users directly rather than having to coordinate with Canonical or the broader Ubuntu community.
Pro Great support for video games
Top support for video drivers.
Pro New Features
Such as notification pane, weather gadget and a sweet new centered taskbar.
Pro Great for gamers
DirectX 12 Ultimate and DirectStorage boost gaming performance quite a bit.
Pro New UI design and features
Centered Taskbar and Start Menu, Widgets panel, and so many more new features and UI elements make Windows 11 truly unique compared to other operating systems.
Cons
Con 64-bit only
Some older PCs still have 32 Bit processors. This limitation will be a major con for those who use an older PC since they will not be able to install, run it in a VM or live media
Con Tethered to the Microsoft Store
Each new release of Windows tugs users closer to the walled garden of the Microsoft Store.
Con Still too many legacy features
Windows 11 still has the Control Panel, Computer Managment and lots of other legacy features that originate from XP, Vista or 7.
Con Spyware
Like Windows 10, Windows 11 records everything you do, builds a profile, then sells it to a third party. Go with Linux.
Con OneDrive is a bit slow
OneDrive opens a folder or file a couple seconds slower on Windows 10 compared to Windows 11. Not a problem if you don't use OneDrive though.
