Deepin Linux 25 is out for a while, it deserved some testing. I decided to give it a try.
Deepin Linux is a graphical state of the art and a good replacement for Windows 11, an excellent replacement for Windows 10 and replacing windows 7, 8, … is a no-brainer. If you are jumping from another Linux distribution, … choices is not as clean-cut. I am an advanced user(2) of Linux, macOS and Windows, so I expect a lot from any distribution.
Installation
After downloading the ISO from the internet, I copied to a USB stick with Ventoy(1) on it, and booted a new PC with Deepin Linux.
Upon booting, selecting the language, has options to replace the existing installation or install alongside any existing system. The language choice is wide (US/UK, FR, ES, any Chinese, …). On my system with i5 coupled with an SSD, it went as a breeze. In less than 10 minutes, my machine was ready for use. After restarting, no further updates to be done, your machine is ready with a full set of software. Even a welcome screen that guides you is present.
First impressions
Whaahaaw… Impressive. There is the look for Windows 11 or windows 10. The AI assistant is there and choosing an offline AI is just clicking a button. Support for activating your ChatGPT account is also just a click of a button away. The software catalog is good and all useful applications are available at a clicks distance.
Basically, you get all you get in Windows 11, with updates and full software catalog for free. If you want, you can customize the look to be Windows 10, Cinnamon, gnome, …. and most of configurable if you are not satisfied with the default look. But given it is sleek and performant, I doubt you will try to change to colours, transparency or borders, … Lets be honest, mix the best of macOS, Gnome, Cinnamon, Windows 10/11 and do away with the burden and you get Deepin 25.
While you are working, the system will do necessary updates in the background and offer their installation without interrupting you. You can fire up your navigator, your word processor and just press print on any document, it will list you the printers on the network and will print right away without installing any drivers.
Second impressions
AI: yes you can download a lot of models directly in the OS panel. You can also click on the Jan AI button to install a stand alone AI application. You have plenty of choices to install models with a click of a button or install your own ones. You can even publish your modified models.
The big downside of AI is quickly found. The answers are not always correct, and often damn wrong. This has nothing to do with Deepin. With the hype around AI, we expect a lot from AI but soon I discovered that a targeted query on google is far more accurate than querying the offline or online models. Even asking the model for a correction makes it persist in giving incorrect answers. Given my machine only has 8GB, I did not try the huge models but I expect no real improvement.
The upside of Deepin AI is that on a generic level, the model performs quiet well and does not call home.
Software store: The technology is sound, but it suffers from being Chinese. A lot of screenshots are Chinese and the English description is except for the mainstream applications, almost empty. If you look for help on the Deepin website, once you enter in the Chinese version, no way to get back to the English one.
I also got some issues while installing Lynapps (a technology like Snap or AppImage), and for a lot of packages, the debian package is 2 years old. Gimp is version 2.10, … the Lynapps version of Libreoffice is old as well. I could not find the other major office suites.
In conclusion: for an English speaking windows user, the software store is somewhat refreshing. For a user coming from Mint/Fedora/… you know it can be done better.
Major issues
- My Bluetooth headphone is disconnecting when the machine is going to sleep and I need to remove it and add it again in the Bluetooth panel after the machine wakes up.
- Printing from Gimp is not that straightforward. Libreoffice did it right from the first click even without installing the printer, just selecting it upon print.
- Looking for a scanning application form the store presents you with a commercial application which will upon scan watermark your document unless you pay. Come on, we are not on macOS where paying is normal. Given the linux underpinnings, the fact that you have to make in-app purchases should be visible from the store. Luckily, removing and adding applications is only a click away.
- The document or image viewer does not allow you to print. You have to open another application such as your office suite or your browser to print.
- As installing applications is only a click away, one can install the Lynapps and native application thus ending up with twice the application installed. Uninstalling it requires some guessing as from the application store, little detail is given on already installed applications.
- Some things are yet unpolished.
- From the start menu, one can send a link to the desktop, but not from the file explorer.
- Adding manually a desktop file is not straightforward. The embedded AI gets it wrong, the Chinese version of the deeping documentation gets it wrong as well and the English version does not mention. After searching the disk, I found the correct location for the desktop files but still some issue remained. Most applications launch correctly but some won’t. (Netbeans/Winbox/…)
- Double-clicking on an executable in the explorer or launching it from another application does group it with an incorrect icon in the dock.
- The integrated mail application is not able to connect to some email providers. Luckily, installing Thunderbird is just a click away.
- The on-screen keyboard is not straightforward. Installing onboard does not give a perfect integration and you can end up with 2 keyboard icons in the notification panel.
- I cannot see my saved networks if the wifi is not in reach. The network manager for Mint is much much better in many aspects.
Conclusion
We can describe Deepin 25 as follows:
- A good replacement for Windows 11 and a perfect one for all the others.
- The beauty of Gnome without the silliness of Gnome.
- Fedora without the Wayland issues.
- A new view on how software should work. An improvement on Linux in many places.
- Almost acceptable for someone coming from macOS, but not yet.
- Advanced linux users will stick with Fedora/Mint, but other users could give it a try.
I miss my mint.
Recommendation for the Deepin team
Aside from fixing bugs, work on the internationalisation and application store. Not sure how it is in Chinese but in English it is a handicap for the widespread adoption.