I’m writing this on a MacBook Air running macOS 26 Tahoe, and I keep glancing at my Mac Mini in the corner — the one running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
I’ve been a macOS user for a decade. I develop iOS apps. I’m neck-deep in the Apple ecosystem — iPhone, Apple Watch Ultra, AirPods, the whole cult membership. But last year, Apple released macOS Tahoe with its Liquid Glass redesign, and I found myself wondering: has the free operating system actually gotten *better* than the premium one?
Short answer: in some ways, yes. I’m not a fanboy for either side. I’ve lived in both worlds. Here’s what I found.
Liquid Glass: Pretty or Pretty Annoying?
You can’t talk about macOS 26 Tahoe without talking about Liquid Glass — Apple’s new translucent, depth-infused design language that makes UI elements look like layers of actual glass. It launched in September 2025. The Mac community’s reaction ranged from “interesting” to “what have you done to my computer.”
The problem? Transparency effects make text and controls hard to read on busy backgrounds. Sidebar selections sometimes vanish. One Mac blogger noted they “can’t even tell what’s a UI bug and what’s working as intended.” A Slack user reported that a yellow emoji positioned behind a Liquid Glass button made the button glow gold for no reason. Several months later, power users are still calling it a work in progress.
Now look at Ubuntu 24.04’s GNOME 46 desktop. It won’t make anyone’s jaw drop. It looks… sensible. Text is always legible. Buttons look like buttons. Sidebars are clearly sidebars. No background emoji has ever made anything glow unexpectedly.
Sometimes boring is beautiful. Right now, Ubuntu’s “boring” feels like a spa day after the visual chaos of Liquid Glass.
The Desktop Gap Has (Mostly) Closed
When I last used a Linux desktop around 2015, the experience was clearly behind macOS. Wi-Fi drivers were unreliable, Bluetooth was a coin flip, and the app ecosystem had canyon-sized gaps.
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS in 2026 is a different beast:
1. It just works now. Ubuntu 24.04.4 ships with Linux kernel 6.17 and Mesa 25.2. Wi-Fi works out of the box. Bluetooth is stable. Even NVIDIA GPUs — historically Linux’s nemesis — cooperate with drivers Ubuntu makes easy to install. The Flutter-based installer gets you from ISO to desktop in 15 minutes with full disk encryption.
2. It’s faster. On the same hardware, Ubuntu feels noticeably lighter than macOS Tahoe. My 8GB Mac Mini M1 runs Ubuntu with headroom to spare — the same machine that sometimes wheezes under Liquid Glass.
3. The apps are there. Firefox, Chrome, VS Code, Spotify, Slack, Discord, Blender, GIMP, OBS Studio, Steam — all available through the App Center, Flatpak, or Snap. Not every macOS app exists on Ubuntu, but for web browsing, document editing, development, media, and communication, the gap is essentially closed.
4. GNOME 46 is mature. The Activities overview, workspaces, Nautilus file manager, and touchpad gestures all feel polished and cohesive. It has its own identity now — no longer a macOS imitation, but a genuinely pleasant desktop in its own right.
Where macOS Still Wins
I’d be dishonest if I didn’t acknowledge these:
1. Ecosystem lock-in (the good kind). AirDrop, Handoff, Universal Clipboard, Sidecar, the new Phone app for relaying iPhone calls — if you own Apple everything, macOS ties it together in ways Ubuntu simply can’t match. This is Apple’s greatest feature and most effective trap, simultaneously.
2. Creative pro software. Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Adobe Creative Suite — they’re macOS-only, and if your livelihood depends on them, there’s no alternative.
3. Xcode. My personal dealbreaker. I need it for my iOS apps. If Apple ever released Xcode for Linux, I’d switch by Friday. They won’t, but a man can dream.
4. Apple Intelligence. Built-in AI writing tools, image generation, and Siri improvements. Ubuntu has nothing equivalent built-in, though running local AI through Ollama arguably gives you more privacy and control.
Where Ubuntu Wins
And these advantages are bigger than most people realize:
1. Customization. macOS lets you pick Light, Dark, or Tinted. Ubuntu lets you change *everything* — desktop environment, window manager, icons, fonts, behavior. Don’t like GNOME? Install KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, or Xfce on the same machine. Try moving your Dock to the top of the screen on macOS. I’ll wait.
2. Privacy. No telemetry by default. No ads. No account sign-in prompts. No features locked behind subscriptions. Ubuntu’s stance: your computer, your data, full stop.
3. Package management. `sudo apt install whatever-you-need`. Three words and you have it. Updating everything on the system? `sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade`. APT is built into Ubuntu’s DNA. Homebrew on macOS is great, but it’s a third-party addition bolted onto an OS that wasn’t designed for it.
4. Dev environment parity. If you deploy to Linux servers (most web devs do), developing on Ubuntu means your dev environment matches production. Docker runs natively. No more “works on my Mac” debugging sessions.
5. Hardware longevity. Ubuntu runs on computers from 2010. macOS is about to abandon every Intel Mac ever made. For sustainability and budget-conscious users, this matters enormously.
The Verdict
In 2015, I’d have said Ubuntu couldn’t match macOS as a daily driver. In 2026, I’m saying something different: for most people — students, web developers, writers, casual users, small businesses — Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is not a compromise. It’s a genuinely excellent OS that costs nothing.
If you need Xcode, the Apple ecosystem, or creative pro software, stay on macOS. I am, for my development work. But if you just want a fast, secure, private desktop that doesn’t cost a thousand plus dollars before you even turn it on? Ubuntu isn’t just viable anymore. It might actually be the better daily experience right now — especially while macOS is going through its Liquid Glass identity crisis.
The $0 operating system is rivaling the premium experience. And in some ways, it’s winning.
— Jun