Pop!_OS

Spec sheet

What it does

Pop!_OS is a Linux operating system built by System76 for productive, customizable desktop computing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Purpose

Pop!_OS is a Linux operating system designed to be productive and personal.Read 5 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Security

The maker says Pop!_OS includes memory-safe Rust code and provides full-disk encryption during installation.Read 5 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Privacy

System76 states that Pop!_OS does not collect or store information from user installations.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Support

System76 offers documentation and says its support team can help owners of System76 computers through support tickets.Read 5 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Headquarters

Denver, Colorado, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · system76.com

Accessibility

The system includes controls for color blindness, limited vision, impaired hearing, and screen-reader access.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Apps and compatibility

Pop!_OS uses APT and Flatpak, and the maker says Ubuntu-compatible tools can run on it.Read 5 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Bioinformatics tools

Listed bioinformatics software includes R, Bioconductor, Bioconda, UniProt, Bowtie 2, and Biopython.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Company headquarters

System76 lists Denver, Colorado as its headquarters and manufacturing location.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com

Company legal name

The product is made by System76, Inc.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Current release

The download page identifies Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS as the current release.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Customization

Users can choose single- or dual-panel layouts, move panels to any screen edge, and create themes with custom fonts and icons.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Desktop environment

Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS uses the Rust-based COSMIC desktop environment.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.system76.com

Developer tools

Official compatibility examples include TensorFlow, PyTorch, Caffe, Jupyter, MATLAB, VS Code, ROS, Postman, KiCad, Android Studio, and Arduino IDE.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Documentation

System76 publishes installation, desktop-basics, application-management, and troubleshooting documentation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.system76.com

Encryption

The installer enables full-disk encryption by default and leaves the encryption key with the user.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Firmware

A firmware-management application provides automatic firmware updates.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Gaming

System76 promotes Steam gaming with integrated driver handling and graphics support.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Independent review gaming result

PC Gamer measured roughly 11.1% lower average performance at 1080p and 16.3% lower at 4K across its Linux-versus-Windows tests, with large game-specific variation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pcgamer.com

Independent review limit

TechRadar lists 64-bit-only hardware support as a drawback.Read 15 Oct 2026 · techradar.com

Independent review limit: application availability

PC Gamer reports that Adobe, Affinity, Battle.net, Office 365, iTunes, Notion, and several hardware-control utilities lack native Linux versions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · pcgamer.com

Independent review limits: bugs

It's FOSS reported audio-device switching problems, missing dock icons, and OBS Studio screen-recording issues in Pop!_OS 24.04.Read 15 Oct 2026 · itsfoss.com

Independent review praise

TechRadar recommends Pop!_OS for beginner gamers, highlighting keyboard control, hybrid graphics, and default full-disk encryption.Read 15 Oct 2026 · techradar.com

Independent review praise: installation

It's FOSS found the Pop!_OS 24.04 installer straightforward, with simple clean or custom partitioning and useful onboarding.Read 15 Oct 2026 · itsfoss.com

Install requirements

The installation guide lists 64-bit x86 or ARM architecture, 4 GB RAM minimum, and 20 GB storage; its download page recommends 4 GB RAM and 16 GB storage.Read 5 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Installation limit

Secure Boot must be disabled before installation, according to the installation guide.Read 5 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Licensing

Public Pop!_OS repositories use open-source licenses including GPL-3.0, MPL-2.0, and BSD-3-Clause.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Limit: delivery and defects

Trustpilot complaints include shipping delays, initial hardware defects, international delivery costs, and occasional communication problems.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com

Limit: update speed

G2 reviewers mention slow updates and delays in delivering major COSMIC or Ubuntu-based releases.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com

Media tools

The compatibility page lists Blender, DaVinci Resolve, OBS Studio, Inkscape, Lightworks, and Natron.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Power profiles

A laptop battery applet offers battery-life and high-performance profiles.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Praise: ease and drivers

G2 reviewers repeatedly praise ease of installation, stability, the interface, and simplified NVIDIA-driver support.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com

Praise: support and build quality

Trustpilot reviewers commonly praise System76 hardware quality, responsive support, straightforward ordering, and smooth Linux operation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com

Productivity

The launcher can open apps, switch windows, calculate, find files, search the web, and run commands.Read 5 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Public source repositories

The verified Pop!_OS GitHub organization lists 343 public repositories, including the distribution source-management project and COSMIC components.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Rating on G2

4.5 out of 5 from 26 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com

Rating on Trustpilot

4.4 out of 5 from 401 reviews for System76Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com

Refresh install

The Refresh Install feature reinstalls the operating system while preserving files in the Home folder.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

SDK and extensibility

The libcosmic repository is described as a GUI toolkit for developing COSMIC applications and applets.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Secure Boot requirement

The official download instructions require Secure Boot to be disabled before installation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Security code

System76 says memory-safe Rust code is used to reduce memory-access vulnerabilities.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Self-hosting

Pop!_OS is distributed as installable ISO images for user hardware rather than as a hosted service.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Software compatibility

Pop!_OS uses APT and Flatpak and advertises compatibility with Ubuntu software.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Software examples

The maker lists VS Code, Android Studio, Blender, DaVinci Resolve, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and MATLAB among compatible software.Read 5 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Supported images

The download page provides standard, NVIDIA, ARM, and ARM-with-NVIDIA images.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

System requirements

Installation documentation lists 64-bit x86 or ARM architecture, at least 4 GB RAM, and 20 GB storage; 8 GB RAM is recommended.Read 15 Oct 2026 · support.system76.com

Updates

Security patches and features arrive through rolling updates and periodic version upgrades that users schedule.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Window management

It supports automatic window tiling that users can adjust with a mouse or keyboard.Read 5 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Window tiling

Its auto-tiling feature arranges windows and can be adjusted with a mouse or keyboard.Read 15 Oct 2026 · system76.com

Plans and prices

Every Pop!_OS plan and price →

Where Specifiction places it

• Linux Distributions#6 of 208.1
• Operating Systems#16 of 428.0