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Pop!_OS RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: Pop!_OS

Pop!_OS


Last Update: 2026-01-17 13:49 UTC


Pop!_OS is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution featuring a custom GNOME desktop. Pop!_OS is designed to have a minimal amount of clutter on the desktop without distractions in order to allow the user to focus on work. The distribution is developed by Linux computer retailer System76.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 6 (1,349), 6 months: 5 (1,384), 3 months: 5 (1,497), 4 weeks: 5 (1,420), 1 week: 5 (1,512)

Average visitor rating: 7.9/10 from 305 review(s).


Pop!_OS
Distribution Pop!_OS
Home Page https://system76.com/pop
Mailing Lists --
User Forums https://chat.pop-os.org/
Alternative User Forums Reddit.com
Documentation https://support.system76.com/#pop
Screenshots --
Screencasts
Download Mirrors https://system76.com/popDistroWatch Torrent Archive
Bug Tracker https://github.com/system76/pop-distro/issues
Related Websites GitHub
Reviews 24.04: FOSS ForceFOSS ForceIt's FOSS
21.x: DistroWatchJeremy Morgan
20.x: Linux za sve (Croatian) • DistroWatchArstechnicaDistroWatch
18.x: CMS CriticDistroWatchDominickm
17.x: DedoimedoDistroWatchMakeUseOf
Where To Donate, Buy or Try https://system76.com/donateThe Linux Shop

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2025-12-11: Distribution Release: Pop!_OS 24.04
 • 2025-09-27: Development Release: Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
 • 2025-01-10: Development Release: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5
 • 2024-12-05: Development Release: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 4
 • 2024-08-08: Development Release: Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 1
 • 2022-04-25: Distribution Release: Pop!_OS 22.04
 • 2021-12-14: Distribution Release: Pop!_OS 21.10
 • 2021-06-30: Distribution Release: Pop!_OS 21.04
 • 2020-10-23: Distribution Release: Pop!_OS 20.10
 • 2020-05-01: Distribution Release: Pop!_OS 20.04
 • 2020-04-17: Development Release: Pop!_OS 20.04 Beta
 • 2019-04-20: Distribution Release: Pop!_OS 19.04
 • More Pop!_OS releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2025-01-02 Pop!_OS release featuring COSMIC faces ongoing delays
 • 2024-03-12 COSMIC desktop to include a new software centre
 • 2024-02-16 System76 shows off COSMIC progress
 • 2023-09-28 COSMIC desktop get new feature to swap between windows
 • 2023-05-11 Desktop and audio scheduling improvements coming to Pop!_OS
 • 2023-01-31 Updates to the COSMIC desktop
 • 2022-10-12 Progress being made in COSMIC development
 • 2022-05-21 HP to ship laptops with Pop!_OS
 • 2022-02-02 Pop!_OS gets new desktop scheduling tool
 • 2021-11-08 System76 to develop its own desktop environment
 • More Pop!_OS headlines...

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • Select view:
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
TUXEDO
TUXEDO Computers

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Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.

Star Labs

Star Labs Systems | Laptops designed for Linux

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View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.


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Feature 24.04 22.04 21.10 21.04 20.10 20.04 19.10 19.04 18.10 18.04 17.10 Feature
Release Date 2025-12-11 2022-04-25 2021-12-14 2021-06-29 2020-10-23 2020-04-30 2019-10-19 2019-04-20 2018-10-19 2018-04-30 2017-10-18 Release Date
End Of Life             2020-07 2020-01 2019-07     End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB) 2900-3500 2500-3200 2500-3000 2400-2900 2200-2700 2100-2500 2100-2400 2100-2400 2000-2300 1800-2100 1700-1800 Image Size (MB)
Free Download ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Pop Installer Pop Installer Pop Installer Pop Installer Pop Installer Pop Installer Pop Installer Pop Installer Pop Installer Pop Installer Graphical Installation
Default Desktop COSMIC GNOME GNOME GNOME GNOME GNOME GNOME GNOME GNOME GNOME GNOME Default Desktop
Default Browser Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Default Browser
Package Management DEB, Flatpak, PackageKit DEB, Flatpak DEB, Flatpak DEB, Flatpak DEB, Flatpak DEB, Flatpak DEB DEB DEB DEB DEB Package Management
Release Model Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Release Model
Office Suite LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice Office Suite
Processor Architecture aarch64, x86_64 aarch64, x86_64 aarch64, x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 Processor Architecture
Init Software systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd Init Software
Journaled File Systems Btrfs, ext4, XFS Btrfs, ext4, XFS Btrfs, ext4, XFS Btrfs, ext4, XFS Btrfs, ext4, XFS Btrfs, ext4, XFS Btrfs, ext4 Btrfs, ext4, XFS Btrfs, ext4, XFS Btrfs, ext4, XFS Btrfs, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Journaled File Systems
Multilingual Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes -- -- -- -- Multilingual
Asian Language Support Yes -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Asian Language Support
Full Package List 24.04 22.04 21.10 21.04 20.10 20.04 19.10 19.04 18.10 18.04 17.10 Full Package List
Package 24.04 22.04 21.10 21.04 20.10 20.04 19.10 19.04 18.10 18.04 17.10 Package
alsa-lib (1.2.15.3) 1.2.11 1.2.6 1.2.4 1.2.4 1.2.3.2 1.2.2 1.1.9 1.1.8 1.1.6 1.1.3 1.1.3 alsa-lib (1.2.15.3)
amdgpu (25.0.0) 23.0.0 22.0.0 21.0.0 19.1.0 19.1.0 19.1.0 19.0.1 19.0.1 18.0.1 18.0.1 -- amdgpu (25.0.0)
apparmor (4.1.3) 4.0.1 3.0.4 3.0.3 3.0.0 3.0.0 2.13.3 2.13.3 2.13.2 2.12 2.12 2.11.0 apparmor (4.1.3)
apt (3.1.14) 2.8.3 2.4.5 2.3.12 2.2.3 2.1.10 2.0.2 1.9.4 1.8.0 1.7.0 1.6.1 1.5 apt (3.1.14)
bash (5.3) 5.2.21 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.4.18 4.4 4.4 bash (5.3)
bind (9.20.18) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- bind (9.20.18)
chromium (144.0.7559.96) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- chromium (144.0.7559.96)
cinnamon (6.6.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- cinnamon (6.6.5)
cups (2.4.16) 2.4.7 2.4.1 2.3.3 2.3.3 2.3.3 2.3.1 2.2.12 2.2.10 2.2.8 2.2.7 2.2.4 cups (2.4.16)
e2fsprogs (1.47.3) 1.47.0 1.46.5 1.46.3 1.45.7 1.45.6 1.45.5 1.45.3 1.44.6 1.44.4 1.44.1 1.43.5 e2fsprogs (1.47.3)
ffmpeg (8.0.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ffmpeg (8.0.1)
firefox (147.0.1) 146.0 99.0.1 95.0 89.0.2 81.0.2 75.0 69.0.3 66.0.3 63.0 59.0.2 56.0 firefox (147.0.1)
flatpak (1.16.3) 1.16.1 1.12.7 1.11.2 1.8.5 1.8.2 1.6.3 -- -- -- -- -- flatpak (1.16.3)
freetype (2.14.1) 2.13.2 2.11.1 2.10.4 2.10.4 2.10.2 2.10.1 2.9.1 2.9.1 2.8.1 2.8.1 2.8 freetype (2.14.1)
gcc (15.2.0) 14.2.0 11.2.0 11.2.0 10.3.0 10.2.0 9.3.0 9.2.1 8.3.0 8.2.0 7.3.0 7.2.0 gcc (15.2.0)
gimp (3.0.8) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gimp (3.0.8)
git (2.52.0) 2.43.0 2.34.1 2.32.0 2.30.2 2.27.0 2.25.1 2.20.1 2.20.1 2.19.1 2.17.0 2.14.1 git (2.52.0)
glibc (2.43) 2.39 2.35 2.34 2.33 2.32 2.31 2.30 2.29 2.28 2.27 2.26 glibc (2.43)
gnome-shell (49.3) -- 42.0 40.5 3.38.4 3.38.1 3.36.1 3.34.1 3.32.0 3.30.1 3.28.1 3.26.1 gnome-shell (49.3)
grub (2.14) 2.12 2.06 2.04 2.04 2.04 2.04 2.04 2.02 2.02 2.02 2.02beta3 grub (2.14)
gtk (4.20.3) 4.14.5 4.6.2 4.4.0 3.24.25 3.24.23 3.24.17 3.24.12 3.24.8 3.24.1 3.22.30 3.22.24 gtk (4.20.3)
httpd (2.4.66) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- httpd (2.4.66)
inkscape (1.4.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- inkscape (1.4.3)
kmod (34.2) 31 29 28 28 27 27 26 25 25 24 24 kmod (34.2)
krita (5.2.14) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- krita (5.2.14)
LibreOffice (25.8.4) 24.2.7 7.3.2 7.2.3 7.1.3 7.0.2 6.4.2 6.3.2 6.2.2 6.1.2 6.0.3 5.4.1 LibreOffice (25.8.4)
Package 24.04 22.04 21.10 21.04 20.10 20.04 19.10 19.04 18.10 18.04 17.10 Package
libselinux (3.9) 3.5 3.3 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.7 2.7 libselinux (3.9)
linux (6.18.7) 6.17.9 5.16.19 5.15.5 5.11 5.8 5.4 5.3 5.0 4.18 4.15 4.13 linux (6.18.7)
mariadb (12.1.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mariadb (12.1.2)
mate-desktop (1.28.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mate-desktop (1.28.2)
mesa (25.3.4) 25.1.5 22.0.1 21.2.2 21.0.1 20.2.1 20.0.4 19.2.1 19.0.2 18.2.2 18.0.0rc5 17.2.2 mesa (25.3.4)
mysql (9.6.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mysql (9.6.0)
nautilus (49.3) -- 42.0 40.2 3.38.2 3.38.1 3.36.1.1 3.34.1 3.32.0 3.26.4 3.26.3 3.26.0 nautilus (49.3)
NVIDIA (590.48.01) 580.82.09 510.60.02 470.86 465.31 455.28 440.82 440.64 418.56 410.57 390.48 -- NVIDIA (590.48.01)
openjdk (25) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- openjdk (25)
openssh (10.2p1) 9.6p1 8.9p1 8.4p1 8.4p1 8.3p1 8.2p1 8.0p1 7.9p1 7.7p1 7.6p1 7.5p1 openssh (10.2p1)
openssl (3.6.0) 3.0.13 3.0.2 1.1.1l 1.1.1j 1.1.1f 1.1.1f 1.1.1c 1.1.1b 1.1.1 1.1.0g 1.0.2g openssl (3.6.0)
perl (5.42.0) 5.38.2 5.34.0 5.32.1 5.32.1 5.30.3 5.30.0 5.28.1 5.28.1 5.26.2 5.26.1 5.26.0 perl (5.42.0)
php (8.5.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- php (8.5.2)
plasma-desktop (6.5.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- plasma-desktop (6.5.5)
postfix (3.10.7) 3.8.6 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postfix (3.10.7)
postgresql (18.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postgresql (18.1)
Python (3.14.2) 3.12.3 3.10.4 3.9.4 3.9.4 3.8.6 3.8.2 3.7.5 2.7.16 2.7.15 2.7.15 2.7.14 Python (3.14.2)
qt (6.10.1) 5.15.13 -- -- -- -- -- 5.12.4 5.12.2 -- -- -- qt (6.10.1)
samba (4.23.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- samba (4.23.5)
systemd (259) 255.4 249.11 248.3 247.3 246 245 242 240 239 237 234 systemd (259)
thunderbird (147.0) 128.14.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- thunderbird (147.0)
vim (9.1) 9.1 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.1 8.1 8.1 8.0 8.0 8.0 vim (9.1)
vlc (3.0.23) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- vlc (3.0.23)
wayland (1.24.0) 1.23.1 1.20.0 1.19.0 1.18.0 1.18.0 1.18.0 1.17.0 1.16.0 1.16.0 1.14.0 1.14.0 wayland (1.24.0)
xfdesktop (4.20.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- xfdesktop (4.20.1)
xorg-server (21.1.21) 21.1.12 21.1.3 1.20.13 1.20.11 1.20.9 1.20.8 1.20.5 1.20.4 1.20.1 1.19.6 1.19.5 xorg-server (21.1.21)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for Pop!_OS

Average rating
7.9
from 305 review(s)



What are your thoughts on Pop!_OS?
Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system.
Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review.

Version:

Rating:    out of 10

Your review (minimum 250 words):




Past reviews - sort by:

Version: 24.04
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-18
Votes: 2


As I am using a dual monitor where one monitor is connected to the designated GPU, I had a lot of difficulty configuring the other distributions for them to work with proprietary drivers, but POP-OS with Nvidia ISO worked flawlessly without any tweaking from me. In terms of my work, I use terminal, containers, vim, and browser, and I'm very happy with the setup. Highly recommend this OS for custom build PCs with NVIDIA GPUs. System-76, keep up the great work. Your products are rock solid and I hope other distributions can learn a thing or two from you guys.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 24.04
Rating: 6
Date: 2026-01-13
Votes: 8


Have been using it for more than 5 years and was very tempted to update to the latest 24.04 release with COSMIC desktop. And unfortunately I was extremely disappointed with it - it's a complete garbage in it's current state, it's simply too raw and unfinished. Primitive configuration tasks like changing keyboard layout with Alt+Shift is impossible to achieve with reasonable efforts. GNOME extensions are not supported (I've been using Freon to display current CPU/GPU temperatures on 22.04, now it's unachievable). COSMIC Tweaks that is claimed to be a replacement for GNOME Tweaks simply can't change any of the settings it suppose to change. The environment performance is pure trash. I guess it's time to switch to something mature and polished, hello KDE.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 22.04
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-01-09
Votes: 0


This was the district that I used to make the jump from windows, I have used Ubuntu previously but didn’t feel it had the daily drive ability that I was looking for. Pop has the perfect amount of simplicity and still having amazing features under the hood. I built this pc with an nvidia gpu and pop manages the nvidia driver updates super well, the only issues I ran into with those drivers where when I was dual booting for a bit and had windows trying to take over the firmware on my gpu. Runs steam games amazingly annd in some cases I tested games running faster on pop than windows on the same computer. amazing documentation, and with it being Ubuntu based that documentation is even better as most Ubuntu stuff applies to pop. Highly recommend this and I’m excited to give cosmic a try when it gets a bit more sorted!


Was this review helpful? Yes No

See all 305 reader reviews of Pop!_OS...



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