Developers of the Zorin OS distribution, based on the Ubuntu package base and aimed at novice users accustomed to working in Windows, reported that the release of Zorin OS 18, published on October 15, has surpassed the million download mark, breaking all past records for the project. 78% of all downloads were made by Windows users.
At the same time, test support for upgrading Zorin OS 17.x releases to the Zorin OS 18 branch was announced. It is expected that within a few weeks, cross-branch upgrade functionality, which does not require reinstallation of the distribution and preserves all user settings, applications and files, will be declared stable.
The Zorin OS distribution is notable for its ability to add the desktop appearance characteristic of different versions of Windows and macOS, as well as the inclusion in the selection of programs that are close to the programs that Windows users are accustomed to. Zorin OS uses GNOME as its desktop base with set of its own add-ons and a panel based on Dash to Panel and Dash to Dock. To integrate your desktop with your smartphone, the Zorin Connect application (based on KDE Connect) is provided. In addition to deb packages and Ubuntu repositories, support for Flatpak, AppImage and Snap formats is enabled by default, with the ability to install programs from the Flathub and Snap Store directories.