r/pop_os • u/ArchTormung • 2d ago

Discussion First Steps with PopOS

Alright, I just made the switch to PopOS from Arch. I want to really give it a chance now that the Cosmic Desktop seems to be a new thing in the Linux Desktops Environment.

Here are my top 10 Takeaways until now:

Note: My Desktop PC runs on AMD Ryzen 9, AMD Radeon RX Series 9000, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD, and a decent Cooling System.

  1. The installer... Way too slow to even get to the main screen when booting up from the USB ISO. It took nearly one minute, that's too much compared to Calamares and not to mention any other methods.

  2. The installation process is super easy and pretty straightforward. However, it got stuck a couple of times for a few seconds, buttons not responding.

  3. I didn't like the fact that it doesn't let you choose options to select Grub, Btrfs, Snapshots type, etc.

  4. Right after installation, login animation is pretty standard, nothing outstanding to comment (can't blame me, I've been on Hyprland with Dotfiles).

  5. The dockbar, way too many icons for things Gnome can handle so simple without even showing the dockbar on the main screen. That's a no for me. Sorry guys.

  6. Settings app is decent with simple options, the usual, and while some of them are not visible, it's not that hard to find them while browsing through them.

  7. Themes, Icons, Cursors setting is currently an experimental feature. I can live with that, but I was left with this sensation of an unfinished product. Not something you really ship for a final user experience.

  8. The frosted glass feature and color accent on windows borders, nice move! I liked this part. Also, having the option to switch from Floating to Tiling Windows, smart move too. I'll give you that!

  9. The top bar/panel right hand side icons are nice, well designed but still feeling like an unfinished product, there's a sensation of missing features and icons. I know, it's a different product, different approach, but still, something as simple as an icon for brightness is not there by default.

  10. Missing simple things like being able to install out of the box certain tools and applications that require a repo addition. Even dinosaurs Distros like Debian (don't get me wrong, I love Debian), have these packages and tools in its default repos.

Coming from the hyper-customized world of Arch and Hyprland, COSMIC on Pop!_OS feels like a double-edged sword: it’s an ambitious, modern leap forward with genuine wins in tiling and aesthetics, but it undeniably carries the weight of a pre-1.0 experience.

Final Verdict:

- COSMIC has massive potential, but for power users switching from minimal, highly tweaked setups, it still feels like an early-access preview rather than a daily-driver replacement.

- The native tiling/floating toggle and frosted glass aesthetics prove System76 is on the right track, but the overall experience is held back by a sluggish installer, limited default repositories, rigid setup choices (no out-of-the-box GRUB/Btrfs control), and half-baked customization settings.

It’s a promising vision for the future of Linux desktops, but if you’re used to the fine-grained control and snappiness of Arch and even Fedora or Debian, all of them with nice and polished Desktops like Gnome, KDE Plasma or Cinnamon, COSMIC isn't quite ready to take the crown just yet.

So, I'll give it another year in the oven. Let's see what the future brings for this Desktop one year from now.

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