Pop!_OS is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution featuring a custom GNOME desktop, which primarily is bundled with the computers built by System76, but also can be downloaded and installed on other computers.
While System76 has announced the latest release, Pop!_OS 20.10 based on the upstream Ubuntu 20.10 “Groovy Gorilla” - albeit, the new Pop OS includes its own tweaks that make it rather different from just any other Ubuntu variant.
Pop!_OS 20.10 provides full out-of-the-box support for both AMD and Nvidia GPUs, which makes it an easy Linux distribution to set-up for gaming due to its built-in GPU support.
What's New in Pop!_OS 20.10 Release?
Pop!_OS 20.10 is based on Ubuntu 20.10, including all the upstream changes such as updated GNOME 3.38, Linux Kernel 5.8, and several bug fixes. Besides these, the latest Pop OS brought support for deb822 repository format, making the system sources list even more compact and easier to navigate.
The support for Deb822 Repository Format also added a new library for repository management, with features such as the ability to reset mirrors to defaults, change the default system repository mirrors, and change the names of repositories.
Also, Pop OS has introduced an interesting feature called Stacking that makes the OS more resourceful, allowing users to switch between tabs in the web browser, and arrange tiled windows in Pop!_OS 20.10. And for the stacking tiled windows, the below Keyboard shortcuts can be used as follows:
- Super+/ (Launches an app into the stack).
- Super+Left or Right Arrows (switch between windows in the stack).
- Super+Enter+arrow keys (Windows in and out of the stack).
- Super+S (Converts a window into a stack).
Another notable feature is the tiling, which is no doubt one of the best features that Pop OS offers out-of-the-box. Although, the application windows sometimes are too small to tile efficiently, but with Pop!_OS 20.10 you can set the Floating Window Exceptions to restrict windows from tiling.
Other major features include: Fractional Scaling In Pop OS, and External Monitor Support in Hybrid Graphics mode, which feature allows you to work easily by adding support for external monitors in the Hybrid Graphics mode.
How to Upgrade to Pop!_OS 20.10
For existing Pop OS users, running the old version of the Linux OS, you can upgrade your system to Pop OS 20.10 simply by going to the Settings application, navigate to the OS Upgrades menu, and click “Downloads” to Upgrade. Also, you can run the below single command in your terminal to upgrade to Pop!_OS 20.10:
pop-upgrade release upgrade
The ISO image of Pop!_OS 20.10 can be downloaded from the official page, with two images available as follows: the normal and the proprietary NVIDIA drivers image.
