The wait for Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS with COSMIC has been a long one. After numerous alpha and beta releases spanning quite some time, we finally have a clear look at what System76’s hard work has resulted in.
Based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, this Pop!_OS release is powered by Linux kernel 6.17, bringing with it a polished desktop experience, expanded hardware support, and many other enhancements.
Carl Richell, Founder and CEO of System76, announced their significant milestone with the following words:
This day marks the foundation for our next twenty years and the first of what will be many rapid innovations. And thank you to System76 customers. COSMIC is entirely funded by System76 hardware sales. Not only are you getting the best Linux hardware on the planet, you’re investing in the future of the Linux desktop that we all love.
I hope you love what we’ve built for you. Now go out there and create. Push the limits, make incredible things, and have fun doing it!
The Installation Experience
The installer for Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS is so good!
The installer felt straightforward from the start. I went with the Clean Install method, which made disk partitioning simple enough. There is a Custom Partition option if you need more control over the storage configuration.
While filling in user details, I noticed the password entry screen had a built-in strength checker. It lets you know if your password is too weak or doesn’t match the confirmation field. Small touch, but helpful.
The installation itself ran smoothly, with a neat animation of a spaceship flying through space in the background. The process ends with the usual system reboot.
The First Steps
A no-nonsense onboarding experience.
After booting into the system, an onboarding process kicks in. It walks you through the basics like accessibility options, network connection, language selection, keyboard layout, and timezone/location.
The theme selection comes up next. I went with the Nebula Dark theme because I liked the purple hues it had.
After that, I had to select the layout; I could choose between a top panel with a bottom dock or just a bottom dock. I went with the first option since that is what I use on my daily-driver Fedora Workstation setup with GNOME.
A Fresh User Interface
Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS ships with COSMIC Desktop Environment Epoch 1, the first stable release of COSMIC. The interface is polished, though there are some rough edges that I will get into later in this article.
Window tiling is slick, and it works per workspace and per display. Moving between workspaces felt easy and intuitive throughout my testing. I threw a bunch of open applications across multiple workspaces and displays at it, and Pop!_OS handled everything without breaking a sweat.
Similarly, the Desktop settings offer various customization options. You can tweak colors, panel positions, dock behavior, change workspace settings, and more.
As for the top panel, it has a notification panel dropdown for quick access to notifications and Do Not Disturb controls, a battery applet for managing power profiles, keyboard backlight, and GPU status (with a helpful warning that the discrete GPU reduces battery life and a list of apps that are using it).
And lastly, an audio applet that lets you tweak sound settings or control media playback on the fly.
COSMIC’s Workspace implementation also deserves a mention here. The switcher on the top left makes navigation simple, and you can pin and rearrange existing workspaces however you like. Combine that with keyboard shortcuts (with the Super key), and your workflow will be unstoppable.
Useful Applications Suite
Some very useful applications are provided.
Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS comes with a set of COSMIC apps that replace the usual GNOME ones. You get Files, Store, Terminal, Text Editor, Media Player, and Screenshot.
These apps are built using Rust and are quite fast and responsive during daily use. For adding new software, the COSMIC Store is your go-to here. It pulls from both the System repositories (hosted by System76) and Flathub, giving you access to a wide range of applications.
You can also manually install Deb and Flatpak packages using the Store…
Gaming is Almost Bliss
Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS brings hybrid graphics support to the table. Apps that request the discrete GPU will automatically use it, and you can manually choose which GPU to use by right-clicking an app icon.
No need to fiddle with modes anymore, and your battery life should be better now too!
I decided to test gaming performance with ARC Raiders. After checking its status on Are We Anti-Cheat Yet? and ProtonDB, I installed it using Steam.
Getting it running took some work. I had to force Proton Experimental via Steam’s compatibility settings. I also disconnected my external monitor because it was causing bad artifacting and the mouse cursor wouldn’t move properly across the screen.
Once I got past those hurdles, there were some initial lags and slow rendering for certain elements. But performance improved noticeably as I progressed through the game.
Beyond those initial issues, the experience was surprisingly close to Windows. The anti-cheat didn’t make a fuss about me being on Linux, matchmaking happened quickly, and the in-match performance was good.
In the video above, you’ll see me getting my a** handed to me by a group of ARC bots. I knowingly teased the Snitch (the flying umbrella thing), btw.
A Few Rough Edges
Now for the not-so-great parts. Audio is a bit broken at the moment. When I plugged in my earphones and tried adjusting the volume, Pop!_OS would change the volume of the built-in speakers on my laptop instead. It also disconnected the earphones altogether during that, which was annoying.
Logos for newly pinned apps don’t always show up in the dock right away. They appear in the app launcher menu just fine, but the dock just shows a generic gear icon for the app. A restart usually fixes this, but it shouldn’t be a thing in the first place.
OBS Studio still doesn’t work properly for screen recording. I am not sure what’s causing the issue, but I had to fall back on Kooha to record videos for this article (again).
These bugs aren’t dealbreakers, but they do need to be addressed.
What More Are You Waiting For?
Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS is available in four variants:
- Standard ISO: For Intel/AMD graphics or NVIDIA 10 Series and older.
- NVIDIA ISO: For NVIDIA 16 Series and newer (GTX 16xx to RTX 6xxx).
- ARM ISO: For ARM64 processors (not Intel or AMD).
- ARM with NVIDIA ISO: For ARM64 systems with NVIDIA graphics, including the Thelio Astra.
Before you download, keep the minimum system requirements of 4 GB RAM, 16 GB storage, and a 64-bit processor in mind. After disabling Secure Boot in your BIOS/UEFI, you are set to install Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS.
If you are on Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS, upgrade notifications will start appearing in January 2026. If you want to upgrade now, back up your files and run the following command:
sudo pop-upgrade release upgrade -f💬 Better late than never, eh? Are you excited to install this as your daily driver? Let me know below!
