Switcher 2026: Zorin OS 18.1 ⭐

Zorin released Zorin OS 18.1 recently, but I've been using a near-final version since the previous week. This is clearly one of the best Linux distributions for Windows switchers looking for a soft landing, and I write that having used a long list of Linux distributions this year, ranging from old favorites to surprising newcomers. Zorin OS is terrific ... But there is one bedeviling problem that I can't overcome, and while it's not specific to Zorin OS, it's gotten in the way of me using it more.

Here's what I've seen over the past few weeks or so.
💲 There are free and paid versions
Zorin is semi-unique in the Linux world in that there are free and paid versions of the distribution. The free version, Zorin OS Core, will likely satisfy most needs, and you should of course just start there for testing purposes before committing, if ever, to the paid version. But there is also a free Lite version that just made the jump to the version 18.x codebase and is aimed at lower-end or older PC hardware, plus a free Education version.

The paid version, Zorin OS Pro, costs a bit under $48 in the U.S. It provides several additional desktop layouts, including some that Windows 11 or Mac switchers will want, creator software like an image editor, video editor, and more, the ability to use a single keyboard and mouse with multiple PCs, productivity software like Planify, the Xournal+ note-taking app, and more, display casting capabilities, additional wallpapers, and access to Zorin support. Also, individuals can install Zorin OS Pro on as many PCs as they own, and you can use it for life with software updates through at least June 2029, though you will need to pay for Zorin OS 19 Pro whenever that occurs.

Whether any of this is worth it to you, Zorin does make a good case for paying for Pro. And I did pay for it myself, mostly for the additional desktop layouts, which I do find preferable to the stock layouts, and to support the work Zorin is doing for its users and upstream in the Linux ecosystem. In trying to solve the one glaring issue I've had, as noted below, I reinstalled Zorin OS a few times, and on different computers. And as I write this, I'm using the Core version.
💻 Hardware support
I initially installed Zorin OS 18.1 on the same 14-inch laptop I previously used with Fedora Workstation. It has an Intel Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" processor, Nvidia RTX 500 graphics, 32 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage, plus a 14-inch display with a 2560 x 1600 resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate.

Everything works about as well as one could hope, though the automatic screen dimming was a bit aggressive for my tastes, so I disabled that. All the keyboard-based media functions seem to work correctly, as do keyboard backlighting, sound, and power management. Connectivity has never been an issue via Wi-Fi, and though I never did connect a Bluetooth device, it has no problem seeing all my compatible devices.

The only issue I had is that the...