System76, a company specializing in the production of laptops, PCs, and servers that come with Linux, has announced the release of Pop!_OS 24.04. Pop!_OS is based on the Ubuntu 24.04 package base and comes with its own COSMIC desktop environment. Project outputs are shared under the GPLv3 license. ISO images are available for x86_64 architectures (2.9 GB + a separate build for systems with NVIDIA GPUs) and ARM64 (2.7 GB).
This distribution is aimed at people using a computer to create something new, such as those involved in content creation, software development, 3D modeling, graphics, music, or scientific work. System76 began developing its own edition of the Ubuntu distribution after Canonical decided to transition Ubuntu from Unity to GNOME Shell — System76 developers set out to create a new GNOME-based theme but later realized they were ready to offer users a different desktop environment that provides flexible tools for customization based on current workflows.
Initially, the user environment in Pop!_OS was based on a modified GNOME Shell and a set of custom plugins for GNOME Shell. In Pop!_OS 24.04, a transition has been made to the new COSMIC desktop environment, developed by System76 over the last three years. The COSMIC project is written in Rust using the Iced library. An overview of COSMIC's features can be found in yesterday's announcement of the COSMIC 1.0 release.
Among other changes in Pop!_OS 24.04:
- The transition to the Ubuntu 24.04 package base has been made. Updated versions of the Linux kernel 6.16, Mesa 25.1.5, NVIDIA drivers 580, libwayland/libwayland-client 1.23.1, and libdrm 2.4.125.
- The GNOME Files file manager, the GNOME Terminal terminal emulator, the GNOME Text Editor text editor, the GNOME Screenshot screenshot utility, and the Totem multimedia player have been replaced with COSMIC Files, COSMIC Terminal, COSMIC Text Editor, COSMIC Screenshot, and COSMIC Media Player applications.
- To install additional programs, instead of Pop!_Shop, the COSMIC Store application is used.
- Official support has been added for System76 Thelio Astra PCs based on the ARM64 architecture, as well as unofficial support for ARM devices from other manufacturers by the community. Tow-Boot is used as the boot loader on ARM systems instead of U-Boot.
- Revamped support for systems with hybrid graphics. Automatic switching is ensured between the integrated GPU and discrete graphics card based on application settings. Added the option for manual GPU selection through a context menu displayed by right-clicking on application icons.
- Support for enabling full-disk encryption during installation has been added.
- The installer now includes a reinstall mode that preserves user files, settings, and applications installed in flatpak format.
Source: opennet.ru
