There’s no debating that Linux is rife with choice. It doesn’t matter what application we’re talking about, Linux has multiple options for which to choose. On top of that, Linux makes it possible to get a highly customized workflow, so your operating system (and the apps you use) are uniquely you.
One only need to examine how many different distribution and desktop environment combinations that are available. Some desktop environments even have flagship distributions used to show off what’s new. For example, there’s GNOME OS, which highlights what’s new and coming to the GNOME desktop environment. The one caveat to using GNOME OS is that it’s typically pre-release software, so using it as your main OS is not advised.
And then there’s KDE Neon.
KDE Neon is a Linux distribution, developed by the KDE community, that is based on Ubuntu’s long-term support (LTS) releases and provides users with the latest KDE software (including the Plasma desktop environment and Qt toolkit), without modifications or patches.
This take on KDE Plasma is exactly as was intended by the developers and is available in both stable and development versions. For those looking for the best KDE Plasma environment possible, KDE Neon Stable is a great way to go. If you’re looking to experience the latest version of KDE Plasma, go with the development version.
I’ve used KDE Neon several times over the years and always found it to deliver an amazing experience… especially for those who appreciate a beautiful desktop environment. I will say this, I’ve usually opted for the development version and have almost always run into one issue or another (which is to be expected from a development version).
This time around, I opted for the stable version and it made a world of difference. I decided to go this route because it would be the version most likely used by those new to the distribution (and those who want a stable experience).
One of the cool things about the stable/developer editions is that they pretty much look the same. The only difference is the developer version will have nightly versions of the KDE Plasma desktop. If you’re looking for a daily-use desktop, stable is the way to go.
One of the best things about KDE Neon (for me) is that it is configured exactly how I prefer KDE Plasma — right out of the box. It uses a light theme (dark themes mess with my eyes), a floating panel, no desktop icons, and plenty of elegance.
Upgrade Process
KDE Neon is based on Ubuntu, but it does have a couple of key differences. First and foremost, KDE Neon uses the pkcon tool for upgrades (in place of apt-get upgrade), which is a command-line interface for the cross-distribution package management system, PackageKit. With pkcon you can do the following:
- Package installation: pkcon install [package name]
- Package removal: pkcon remove [package name]
- Package cache refresh: pkcon refresh
- System updates: pkcon update
- Package searching: pkcon search [package name]
- Listing available packages: pkcon get-packages
Another difference is that, like Fedora, KDE Neon often requires a restart to run and apply upgrades. This of course, unnerves me every time it happens because of the nightmare stories I hear about Windows upgrades going sideways. It’s one thing for an upgrade to go south when it all happens with the desktop accessible. Should something go wrong, you can jump to the terminal window and fix it. When upgrades happen during reboot, you never know if you’re going to have access to the desktop should it go bonkers.
Take, for instance, my current installation. I’ve been sitting here for 5 minutes waiting for it to go from 43% to 44%. I’m used to Linux upgrades happening very quickly, so maybe I’ve grown spoiled over the years.
Given this was a newly downloaded ISO, I would have thought the upgrades not to be that large, but here we are.
After the lengthy upgrade was completed, the OS automatically rebooted and I was able to log in. I should have trusted the process. After all, this is not Windows. With the update complete, I was treated to KDE Plasma version 6.3, which includes the ability to clone panels, pinpoint individual pixels with KWin Zoom, the ability to fine-tune drawing tablets, vastly improved fractional scaling, better hardware monitoring, more powerful tools (such as KRunner and Discover), and better usability (such as auto-switching between mouse and touchpad and a new Help category added to the launcher.
This might well be the most polished version of KDE Plasma to date and KDE Neon shows it off to perfection.
Of course, getting to pkcon takes a back seat to how KDE Neon looks. It’s beautiful in every KDE Plasma kind of way. The latest releases of KDE Neon have proved to me that even the old-school desktop metaphor (taskbar, start button, system tray, etc.) can actually be both efficient and elegant. That, of course, isn’t unique to KDE Neon, as there are many KDE Plasma-based Linux distributions that bring a similarly pleasing aesthetic.
There’s just something about KDE Neon that makes the desktop a bit prettier and modern. You know it when you see it… a desktop interface that seems slightly ahead of the curve, one that promises something special to be had.
KDE Neon is that.
Who Is KDE Neon for?
The stable version of KDE Neon is suitable for anyone looking to get a version of this particular desktop exactly how the developers intended it to be. If you want an elegant, highly customizable, user-friendly desktop, KDE Plasma is what you want and KDE Neon gives you the best route to that desire.
If you’re a developer or want to see what’s new in the latest/greatest version of KDE Plasma, choose the developer option.
In the end, KDE Neon is a Linux desktop distribution that could please just about anyone with any skill. The only caveat to using KDE Neon is that it ships with a bare minimum of applications (Figure 1).
Figure 1
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Figure 1: The Office menu is bare, meaning you’ll need to install some applications.
Fortunately, KDE Discover (the KDE Plasma app store GUI) ships with Flatpack support rolled in, so there are tons of software titles to be installed from that user-friendly GUI. Although snapd is installed, every time I attempted to enable Snap within Discover, it seemed to refuse to accept the change. Even though the Snap option is grayed out in Discover (Figure 2), it still works, which tells me it’s a bug.
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Figure 2: Snap might look broken, but you’ll see Snap packages listed as options for app installation.
If you’re looking to get a truly beautiful desktop, trust the developers of KDE Plasma, download an ISO of KDE Neon, and install it. You will not regret the decision.
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