by 
Our friend Cassidy James Blaede (you know him from elementary OS and System76) is now working for Endless OS and he just shared some exciting news about the next major release of Debian-based distribution, Endless OS 5.
Endless OS 5 is coming later this year and promises a refreshed desktop experience based on the latest GNOME desktop environment. The new desktop experience includes a cleaner and more spacious look by separating apps from system status, a dock that shows favorite and running apps, and a transparent top panel with a calendar, date & time, system tray, and app menu.
Endless OS’ signature look with the app grid and search on the wallpaper will remain, but it will only display installed apps in the next version of the GNU/Linux distribution. On top of that, you’ll have new ways to open the app grid, including by clicking on the app grid button on the dock, the Applications button on the top panel, or by using swipe gestures on a touchpad.
Endless OS 5 also promises a new multitasking experience for increased productivity with the all-new Workspaces feature. This lets you arrange opened windows across multiple workspaces and switch between them with your mouse, keyboard, or touchpad using a three-finger swipe gesture.
Also new in Endless OS 5 is a completely revamped App Center based on GNOME Software that gives you access to more than 1,800 Flatpak apps. The all-new App Center features larger and more colorful banners to showcase featured apps, more visually appealing categories, more compact Editor’s Choice apps, support for fresh apps on the New & Updated section, and more informative and cleaner apps’ information pages.
Endless OS 5 is currently under heavy development and, as mentioned before, it’s slated for release later this year, yet no exact date was given at the moment of writing. I’m also hoping to find out more details about the underlying Linux distribution as development progresses, such as Linux kernel, GCC, Glibc. etc., but I know for sure that Endless OS 5 will be based on Debian GNU/Linux 11 “Bullseye”.
Update: Cassidy James Blaede tells me that Endless OS 5 will have a newer kernel and a collection of newer packages than those available in the Debian GNU/Linux 11 “Bullseye” repositories.
Image credits: Endless OS
Last updated 2 years ago
