Linux desktop is getting better, but it still sucks

This year alone, I've seen many YouTubers (or other content creators) making videos about Linux or trying Linux for the first time. The biggest video so far is by Pewdiepie trying Linux, and not only regular mainstream desktop distros, but he uses Arch Linux. With this, we can see that Linux is definitely getting more attention and becoming more popular.

Based on StatCounter Global Stats, Linux has a market share of 3.9% as of July 2025. This is a low number compared to Windows at 71.83%. But if we look at the trend, Linux has been slowly increasing its market share over the years. In 2020, Linux had a market share of 1.9%. This means that in the past five years, Linux has increased its market share by 2%. This is a good sign for Linux, but it is still a long way to go to reaching the market share that many Linux enthusiasts hope for.

Has Linux gained more popularity?

There are several reasons why Linux is getting more popular. One of the main reasons is gaming. Many Linux users were frustrated with the lack of game support on Linux, forcing them to switch back to Windows. But Valve has heard the frustration of Linux users and has made efforts to bring more games to Linux. With the introduction of Proton, a compatibility layer that allows Windows games to run on Linux, many popular games are now playable on Linux.

I personally have been using Linux as my main OS for gaming, and I can play most of the games that I like. The only games you probably can't play on Linux are competitive games, like Valorant, that have kernel-level anti-cheat (Vanguard).

Another factor why Linux is getting more popular is the rise of user-friendly distros. In the past, Linux was known for being difficult to use and configure. But now, there are many user-friendly distros, like Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Pop OS, that make it easy for new users to get started with Linux. These distros come with a lot of pre-installed software and have a user-friendly interface that is similar to Windows or macOS.

Even Arch Linux, which is known for being a more advanced distro, has become more user-friendly with the introduction of Arch Install, which allows you to easily install Arch. There's also Omarchy, which is an Arch + Hyprland setup that is easy to install and use, created by DHH. But, be careful in using Arch as your first distro, as it can be overwhelming for new users, especially if you're using tiling window managers, like Hyprland, which is currently popular.

Is Linux for you?

Linux is getting good, of course, but it's still far from perfect, especially if you just want your computer to just work. There is a lot of software that is not available on Linux. Some of the popular software that is not available on Linux are Adobe software and Microsoft Office.

While there are alternatives available on Linux, they are not as good as the original software. For example, GIMP is a popular alternative to Photoshop, but it lacks some of the features that Photoshop has. This can be a deal breaker for many people who need this software for their work.

I also had a bad experience with software support. In one of my projects, I needed to use Amazon Workspaces, which actually has support for Linux, but it was for Ubuntu 22.04, and I was using 24.10. So I tried to make some workarounds and configure a lot of things, and ended up spending too much time configuring it, and finally I gave up and switched to Windows. This shows that software compatibility is still a big issue for Linux.

Why does Linux lack software support?

One of the main reasons is the market share. Since Linux has a low market share, many software developers don't see the need to develop software for Linux. They would rather focus on developing software for Windows or macOS, which have a larger market share.

Other than that, developing Linux desktop applications is hard because of the fragmentation of the Linux desktop environment. There are multiple display protocols, like X11 and Wayland, that they need to think of. Linux is in a big transition from X11 to Wayland, and not all distros have fully adopted Wayland yet. This can cause compatibility issues for software developers. Even though you can still run X11 applications on Wayland using XWayland, some software may not work as smoothly as it would on X11.

A lot of people become passionate about Linux once they realize how powerful it is and spend most of their time customizing their Linux desktop. Just check r/unixporn on Reddit and you'll see some impressive setups. If what you want is just a computer that just works, then maybe Linux is not for you yet. But if you want to learn and explore, then Linux is definitely worth a try