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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- If you want a MacOS-like Linux distro, PearOS is the one to try.
- The latest release adds a lot of polish to an already beautiful desktop.
- I still have a couple of nits to pick about this free OS.
As my regular readers know, I love a beautiful UI. It may seem shallow, but a gorgeous desktop environment makes what could be a drudge of a day a bit more enjoyable.
For instance, when Apple released Liquid Glass, I was thrilled. And then System76 one-upped Apple with Frosted Glass. A developer even gave GNOME the glassy look with Aura Glass.
This is great for Linux because the OS lets developers and designers go crazy with looks and effects. Back in June, I tested PearOS and found it to be the best MacOS alternative. Since then, the developer has followed up with another release that builds on what it had already delivered, making it better than ever.
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One thing to understand about PearOS is that it’s not a theme slapped onto the KDE Plasma desktop. Instead, PearOS is a full-blown desktop (based on KDE Plasma) with a lot of “Macification” done.
About PearOS
PearOS is a Linux distribution offered with a base of either Arch, Debian, or BSD. It closely mimics the MacOS desktop. The developers say they wanted PearOS “to feel finished everywhere: a real menu bar, a real dock, and a system that gets out of your way.“
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Currently, two versions of PearOS are available: NiceC0re (the flagship release, which is based on Arch Linux) and a Debian-based version. The developers also have a BSD build and one for aarch64 coming soon. Every release of PearOS is built from scratch, mostly by a single developer, and enjoys a growing community that “cares more about getting the desktop right than shipping fast.”
What sets PearOS apart?
As soon as you boot the live disk, you’ll understand why I feel that PearOS is the single best MacOS-like Linux distribution on the market. It’s as MacOS-esque as any desktop has ever been. And because the developer strives to make PearOS a Linux desktop distribution that looks and feels complete, out of the box, users won’t have to do any tweaking or configuration; just install, log in, and use it.
When you use PearOS, you might find yourself asking, “Am I really using Linux?” The big visual giveaway is that instead of “Finder,” you have “Pinder. ” Also, whereas on MacOS you have Safari, PearOS gives you Seafari. Outside of that (and the pacman package manager), PearOS does a great job of making you question which operating system you’re actually using.
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From my perspective, that’s a good thing. Users (especially those who long to escape the bonds of Windows and the cost of Apple) don’t need to be reminded that they’re using Linux; they just want an OS that works.
OK, we get it: PearOS looks like MacOS. But what else helps to set this distro apart? The app curation is pretty spot on. Although it lacks an office suite, you’ll get a lot of similar apps as you would find on MacOS, such as the App Store, Emoji Selector, KDE Connect, KMail, Maps, Notes, To-Do, and a pair of default desktop widgets for calendar and weather.
With the latest release, the developer refined its Liquid Gel look across the board, added a MacOS-style display notch, moved to Wayland by default, included out-of-the-box support for Nvidia GPUs (along with FOSS drivers for AMD GPUs), added a display-as-ring-light feature, integrated an AI-style voice assistant, given security a bump with Privacy Bubbles (visual alerts to inform you when your mic, webcam, or screen recorder is in use), switched the old experimental browser with Seafari, and more.
What purpose does PearOS serve?
The purpose of PearOS is to make users feel immediately comfortable on the desktop, without ever having to open the terminal. To accomplish this, PearOS emulates the MacOS Liquid Glass desktop very well, and sets up a desktop that users won’t have to spend hours customizing.
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PearOS also wants to be an OS that’s ready to go upon first boot, with drivers installed, updates taken care of, the perfect collection of apps, and everything sorted, even before you log in.
Does PearOS succeed?
My answer is…. almost. (You might expect me to harp on the lack of an office suite. However, I know that not everyone needs an office suite, and when most do, they tend to use a cloud-based solution like Google Workspace, iCloud, or Microsoft 365.
My only two nits to pick with PearOS are:
1. Not everything always works as expected, and sometimes it feels a bit unstable. (More on that below.)
2. For some reason, I can not get the file manager (Pinder) to open. To address the issue, I installed the default KDE Plasma file manager, Dolphin. While this did not solve the Pinder problem, it did give me a usable file manager.
While these two nits aren’t exactly small potatoes (or pears), both can be resolved with updates. Until then, I would say that PearOS nearly succeeds at its purpose. I have faith that with the next round of updates, it will very much succeed.
Who would I recommend PearOS for?
I would love to say that I could recommend PearOS to anyone, regardless of their Linux experience. But given the two issues I ran into, I hesitate to do so. However, if you’re OK opening the App Store, searching for and installing Dolphin, and then using it instead of the non-functioning default file manager, you’ll be OK.
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As for the stability issue, I’ll say this: During the KDE 1.x and 2.x iterations, the desktop did not feel entirely stable, like any second it could lock up or crash. Although I never had PearOS come crashing down on me, it did (on a couple of occasions) exhibit bits of odd behavior. (For example, a window would open but leave a trail of artifacts as it did.) That could very well have been caused by my running PearOS as a virtual machine. The good news is that PearOS never did crash or lock up, so take my warning with a grain of salt.
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Even so, I would suggest installing PearOS on a spare machine (or virtual machine) and testing it for yourself, before making it your go-to distribution.
The latest release of PearOS is the best yet. It’s gorgeous, it’s highly usable, and it even makes using Arch Linux fairly easy. If you’re interested in giving PearOS a go, download the ISO from the official site.
