What are pros and cons of Zorin OS?

The 16th version of the Linux variant Zorin OS, based on Ubuntu 20.04, offers the Gnome desktop en­vir­on­ment and has an in­spir­ingly chic desktop layout re­min­is­cent of Windows to make any switch from Windows easy. With smooth nav­ig­a­tion, practical Android coupling, optimised per­form­ance, many pre­in­stalled programs and numerous tools from the re­pos­it­ory, Zorin OS 16 presents itself as a strong com­pet­it­or to the likes of Windows and macOS.

The Linux de­riv­at­ive Zorin OS appeared as version 1.0 back in 2009 and now (2022) goes up to version Zorin OS 16. The Ubuntu 20.04 un­der­pin­nings make it very easy to use for both beginners and users with Linux ex­per­i­ence. Thanks to practical, ‘out of the box’ func­tion­al­ity, Zorin OS offers pre-installed open-source software, support for Windows programs, easy in­stall­a­tion and a high-quality design even in the free version.

The operating system impresses users with the following functions and features:

Just like Ubuntu and Linux Mint, in­stalling Zorin OS is par­tic­u­larly easy and supports setting up the dis­tri­bu­tion in virtual machines using Vir­tu­al­Box. If you make a USB stick bootable, even a live USB in­stall­a­tion is possible. Im­me­di­ately after in­stall­a­tion, the dis­tri­bu­tion presents the Zorin OS func­tion­al­ity to its users.

The desktop en­vir­on­ment is based on Gnome and should not be a surprise or change, at least for Linux and Ubuntu users. The layout and design of the ‘Zorin Desktop’ en­vir­on­ment have been nicely polished and are based on Windows and macOS, which offers users a chic and familiar look. The taskbar can be flexibly cus­tom­ised, while the Windows-like operation runs in­tu­it­ively and smoothly.

Another handy feature is that the elegant design switches between Dark and Light themes depending on the time of day, while the pre-in­teg­rated active wallpaper gently changes and adjusts its colour tones through­out the day. To customise the layout and themes as needed, all you need is the free cus­tom­isa­tion tool Gnome Tweaks. Other design features include a night mode with blue light filter, a touch­screen-optimised layout and a do-not-disturb mode.

By default, Zorin OS supports pairing with Android smart­phones. You just need the free Zorin Connect app. This way, smart­phone media can be easily viewed on your desktop, messaging apps can be used via Zorin OS, and files can be trans­ferred between devices.

Steam support is par­tic­u­larly in­ter­est­ing for gamers. After a simple post-in­stall­a­tion of the Steam app from the Ubuntu re­pos­it­ory, Steam is available, but ad­di­tion­al libraries might have to be added manually. However, since most Steam games do not offer Linux support, this is a somewhat in­sig­ni­fic­ant feature.

Those migrating from Windows who do not want to part with Windows programs, despite switching to Zorin OS, can also run and use Windows ap­plic­a­tions with the Windows emulator, WINE, as long as the program runs using WINE.

This is par­tic­u­larly striking when compared to other free Linux dis­tri­bu­tions. Zorin OS 16 is available in Core, Lite, Education and Pro versions. While the Lite version is primarily intended for older devices due to its low resource con­sump­tion, the free standard versions Core and Education offer all necessary func­tion­al­it­ies, including pre­in­stalled software, different desktop designs and a Gnome desktop en­vir­on­ment. The Education version, which focuses on edu­ca­tion­al in­sti­tu­tions, includes learning programs and remote functions. The Pro version, on the other hand, costs around 35 pounds and offers more high-quality desktop layouts in the style of Windows 11 or macOS, a range of wall­pa­pers and Zorin support.

Like Ubuntu, Zorin OS comes with all the important pre-installed programs for office work, en­ter­tain­ment, or everyday Internet surfing. These include Lib­reOf­fice, Firefox browser as well as other browsers that can be installed later, a media player, the image editing software GIMP, the Windows emulator, WINE, and an email client. For further sup­ple­ments and tools, the system offers the Ubuntu re­pos­it­or­ies, Flathub and the Snap Store.

There are different system re­quire­ments to consider depending on the version:

• Lite: 64-bit processor (700 MHz single core), 512 MB RAM, 8 GB memory, 640 x 480 px screen
• Core/Education: 64-bit processor (1 GHz dual core), 2 GB RAM, 10 GB storage, 800 x 600 px screen
• Pro: 64-bit processor (1 GHz dual core), 2 GB RAM, 20 GB storage, 800 x 600 px screen

Below, we will give you a practical overview of the ad­vant­ages and dis­ad­vant­ages of Zorin OS.

The origins of Zorin OS lie in a school project by brothers Artyom and Kyrill Zorin, who – based on their pro­gram­ming – founded their own company to further develop and market the Zorin operating system. The intuitive operation does not require many manual ad­just­ments in the settings, and that is thanks to the Zorins’ non- tech-savvy father. The brothers hired him as a tester to make nav­ig­a­tion and operation as beginner friendly as possible.

Thanks to intuitive features and a focus on those switching from familiar operating systems, Zorin OS 16 presents itself as a par­tic­u­larly fluid Linux dis­tri­bu­tion. The different versions and the ex­pand­able func­tion­al­ity appeal to a broad audience and do not require intensive Linux knowledge. It can therefore be assumed that Zorin OS will continue to enjoy in­creas­ing pop­ular­ity, es­pe­cially among Linux beginners.

Like most Linux-based dis­tri­bu­tions, Zorin OS provides regular updates for its system com­pon­ents to close security holes and update programs. The Linux security features in turn provide robust pro­tec­tion against malware. Nev­er­the­less, you should pay attention to current versions and reputable de­velopers for post-in­stall­a­tion programs. In terms of security, one point of criticism is the firewall, which is disabled by default, meaning users have to activate it first.

Zorin OS is suitable for Linux newbies, Ubuntu beginners and Windows con­ver­tees who do not have intensive Linux knowledge and want to rely on practical nav­ig­a­tion, intuitive operation/nav­ig­a­tion and familiar layouts. Nev­er­the­less, it should be em­phas­ised that fa­mil­i­ar­isa­tion with Linux and Ubuntu is required to make the best use of all features.

The range of Linux dis­tri­bu­tions for laptop and PC is growing every year. Those who are not in­ter­ested in the Windows com­pet­it­or Zorin OS may be in­ter­ested in the following practical Linux variants, among others:

• Ubuntu
• Fedora
• Debian
• Linux Mint
• Arch Linux
• Manjaro Linux