Why ZorinOS 18 might be the new best Linux distro – and I’ve tried them all

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.

---

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• ZorinOS is a great Linux distribution for all types of users.
• The latest release includes tons of new features.
• You’ll also find performance increases and new tiling options.

---

I’ve been a big fan of ZorinOS for a long time. I’ve found the OS’s approach to be quite refreshing, and the team behind it is always ready to add something fresh to new releases. When I received the invite to test the beta of the latest release (18), I assumed there was something special in store. 

Although the beta release of ZoronOS 18 doesn’t offer a profound change to the operating system or UI, all of the polish and new bits come together to create something that I’m confident anyone could not only use but also enjoy using. And by anyone, I mean you, your children, your parents, and your grandparents.

It’s that easy.

ZorinOS is also beautiful. 

Also: Zorin simplifies the task of installing Windows apps on Linux. Here’s how   

You might be saying to yourself, “But ZorinOS was already a lovely desktop!” Well, the maintainers have one-upped themselves with a subtle refresh such that the default layout is fantastic, even though it’s a fairly straightforward KDE Plasma layout. Essentially, what ZorinOS does is enable the floating panel (with rounded edges and a slight bit of transparency).

In fact, this is the first time I’ve installed a new version of ZorinOS and haven’t immediately opened the Zorin Appearance app to change the layout. Speaking of which, the team is preparing three more layouts for the Pro edition, which include a compact panel layout, a Linux Mint-like layout, and an elementaryOS-like layout. This, combined with the other six Pro layouts, means you are sure to find a UI to perfectly meet your taste and needs.

Tiling made easy

If you’ve never heard of a tiling window manager, you’re missing out. Essentially, a tiling window manager automates window placement. When you open a new window, the tiling window manager will magically place it on your screen such that the layout is more efficient. Don’t be fooled, ZorinOS isn’t switching to a tiling window manager such as i3. Instead, it behaves more like window snapping. 

How this works is simple: After you open a window, you can drag it to one of the various locations on the screen, and the window manager will automatically adjust the size and placement. For example, if you drag the window to the top center of the display, that window will take up the entire desktop. If you drag it to the left side, the window will take up the left half of the screen. 

Also: How to choose the right Linux desktop distribution for you

ZorinOS 18 does take this one step further by allowing you to create your own tiling layouts, customize the tiling behavior, enable auto-tiling and smart window suggestions, and create custom keyboard shortcuts for an even more efficient tiling experience.

Once you get used to this version of tiling, you won’t want to go back to manual placement. 

Web apps

If you’re not already using web apps, you need to start now, and ZorinOS makes this easy.

What are web apps? Imagine opening a website in a browser window that doesn’t include the usual controls and toolbars found in a traditional browser. Instead, you open that site in a window that makes it look like the website is a traditional application.

For example, you can create a web app for the ZDNET site. Once you’ve done that, locate your new ZDNET web app in the desktop menu, click it, and the web app window opens with the ZDNET site at the ready. You can create web apps for any website you use (such as Office 365, Google Docs, etc).

Online account integration

If you’re a Microsoft OneDrive user, you can now enjoy integration with the cloud service. This goes along with the usual suspects, such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Nextcloud, Microsoft Exchange, IMAP/SMTP, WebDAV, and Kerberos. 

I will say, however, that the beta version did have problems making the connection between ZorinOS and my OneDrive account. Even after connecting my account, it seemed the only integration was with Mail. Turns out, to integrate OneDrive, you don’t actually click the Microsoft option; you click the Microsoft 365 option, where you are required to enter your Client ID or your Tenant ID. Even after successful authentication via the default Brave browser, when attempting to connect Office 365 to ZorinOS, I received the unauthorized_client: The client does not exist or is not enabled for consumers error.

Also: You can try Linux without ditching Windows first – here’s how

I also attempted to connect my Google account, but (as I’ve mentioned before), using passkeys with Google is a hair-pulling experience, and it often does not work (please, Google, when I click “Try another way,” actually give me another way to authenticate).

So, the online accounts feature is a bit problematic, but I’m not ready to say this is the fault of ZorinOS 18 beta.

Misc additions/changes

There are several other new features and updates found in ZorinOS 18 beta, such as:

• An expanded built-in database to help detect installer files for Windows applications (over 170 apps), which will suggest alternative applications
• New theme colors (yellow and brown)
• Improved systemwide performance
• Search everywhere in Files
• An improved Zorin Menu (including multi-monitor support)
• Windows open in the center of your screen by default
• Better sound quality with lower latency
• Expanded hardware support
• Long-term support until 2029

All-in-all, the ZorinOS team has taken a great Linux desktop OS and made it even better. Once the stable release is available, I would highly suggest you give ZorinOS a try. If you’re curious, you can always install the beta to see how well it’s coming along. Do this by downloading the ISO, burning it to a USB drive, inserting the USB drive into a spare machine, booting up, and installing. Or, you could spin up a ZorinOS 18 beta virtual machine with the help of VirtualBox.

Also: 7 things every Linux beginner should know before downloading their first distro

READ MORE HERE