When comparing Deepin OS vs Debian Unstable, the Slant community recommends Debian Unstable for most people. In the question“What are the best rolling release Linux distributions?” Debian Unstable is ranked 29th while Deepin OS is ranked 30th. The most important reason people chose Debian Unstable is:
It is great for your daily desktop Linux due it good balance of stability and recent packages - it is also recomended by the debian project as the distro you should choose for desktop systems.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pro Easy to install
Installing Deepin OS is very easy. Even easier than installing Ubuntu!
Pro Supports Flatpak
Deepin OS supports Flatpak. It also has some Flatpak programs installed by default.
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.
Pro Very stable
Since it is based on Debian stable, you will hardly ever get a dependency issue.
Pro Based on Debian
It is based on Debian which is the best Linux distribution for desktops.
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".
Pro Best for daily use
Pro Rolling release
It is a rolling release Linux distribution which is quite popular these days.
Pro Great design to the app store
The app store is gorgeous.
Pro Has its own toolkit
It has its own toolkit called "Deepin Tool Kit". And the maintainers themselves use it.
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.
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.
Pro Launches programs faster
Programs load and launch faster in Deepin than other Linux distributions. It takes only about 3 seconds to launch Chrome.
Pro Company behind it
The Wuhan Deepin Technology is behind this Linux distribution.
Pro PRO Network Managment
Deepin has the facilities to create VLAN and other configuration like Wifi Hostpot on their GUI.
Pro Quite lightweight
Deepin 15.7 is lighter than Windows 10 and Ubuntu.
Pro Includes a lot of packages in the official repository
The official repository of deepin OS includes over 73,000 packages.
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.
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.
Pro Includes both Windows and macOS style interface
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."
Pro Not based on Ubuntu
Some people don't like Ubuntu nor its derivatives.
Pro Seemless transition form Windows to Linux
Easy to install, comes with default packages to typical needs e.g. Chrome, WPS office, System Monitor and a bunch of multimedia utilities. Its easy to install and uninstall applications, it has a great app store and is fast. On same laptop run much faster than Windows 10 did.
Pro Great for Desktop use
It is great for your daily desktop Linux due it good balance of stability and recent packages - it is also recomended by the debian project as the distro you should choose for desktop systems.
Pro Up-to-date software
Cons
Con Based in China
Con Customization is a bit hidden
GUI is not straight forward for changing GTK+ or QT themes.
Con Deepin store apps not up to date
Con Cannot customize desktop environment
Because the developers have locked down desktop customization is A HUGE detractor against the idea of setting things up how you want.
Con Team doesn't know what to do
Deepin has changed the base 4 times, and the name 3 times. The Desktop Environment also has been changed 4 times.
Con Slow default repos
Download speed for packages from the default repos, is abnormally slow if you don't choose the correct sever.
Con There are issues restarting (on a PC)
Con Pretty laggy
Con Strange development organization
There aren't any sort of improvements over Deepin v15.1. The only changes are icons - they've become better.
Con Very slow installer
Because the servers are in China.
Con Installer lacks features
Con Development version
Debian Unstable is intended as a development release, and as such is much more likely to break.
Con Not for users new to Linux
You need to know how to maintain Debian Unstable or you can easily bork your system. There isn't very much information available on how to maintain Debian Unstable either. I was fortunate enough to be involved in a now defunct Linux distribution where a forum member put together a how-to on how to upgrade Debian Stable to Debian Unstalble, as well as a separate forum where users could post tips or ask questions about Debian Unstable. One source I would recommend is the Siduction forums.