Pop_OS! 19.04 vs Ubuntu 19.04: what are the differences ?

Pop_OS!, System 76's own Linux distro, has gained quite a lot of attention lately. One question that comes back often is: how does it compare with Ubuntu, on which it's based ? Let's take a look at the differences between the two !

Installation
Ubuntu still rocks its Ubiquity installer. It offers a few options, such as partitioning the drive, enabling encryption, turning the wifi on wifi to download and install updates right during the installation, as well as installing proprietary, non-free software such as codecs, or even the stable nvidia drivers best suited to your hardware.

PopOS installer is a whole new one. developed in conjunction with the elementary OS team. The Live ISO of Pop OS boots directly on the installer, but you can of course still use the system through GNOME. Pop_OS asks you for the language, the keyboard layout, and then offers a few options to either erase the whole disk and install PopOS, or to tweak the partition layout. Partitioning is actually done through Gparted, while Ubuntu's installer has its own integrated tool. Once you selected the disk you want to install on, you'll get the choice to encrypt the drive, with encryption being made default.
User account creation is handled after the machine reboots.

Another main difference is that Pop_OS ships 2 ISOs: one for Intel and AMD cards, and another for Nvidia cards, which includes the latest nvidia drivers by default, so you have on less step to enable them after install.

Also interesting to note is the fact that Pop_OS will create a recovery partition, allowing you to reinstall, or simply refresh your existing install, while keeping all your user files. This is a great feature I wish other distros would incorporate.

Look and feel
Pop_OS and Ubuntu look very different, although both use GNOME. with a more yellowish tint, charcoal title bars While Ubuntu adds a dock by default, Pop_OS does not, opting for a purer GNOME experience. Both extensively theme the desktop, with Ubuntu using its nice Yaru theme and Suru icons, with orange highlights and black elements, and POP_OS using its own theme with a yellowish accent color, and charcoal title bars. Pop_OS also uses very vivid icons, with a cyan blue for the folders, and other icons being closer to what GNOME 3.32 offers.

Pop_OS also adds the ability to use a slim mode, to shrink title bars a bit, and enable a dark mode by default, which can offset the very bright colors and make it a bit less tiring for your eyes.

Software
Pop_OS ships with Firefox as its web browser, just like Ubuntu, but replaces thunderbird with Geary, a lighter, simpler email client that fits a lot more nicely with a GNOME desktop. It includes LibreOffice, as well as most of the GNOME default apps: calendar, terminal, settings, document viewer, image viewer,etc...
Ubuntu ships with a bit more stuff than Pop_OS, though, such as Cheese, a few games like Mines, Mahjoingg or Solitaire,
or rhythmbox.

As a result, pop_OS is a bit lighter after installation than Ubuntu, using 7gb of hard drive space, while Ubuntu uses 9GB

App Stores
Here is a big difference between distros: Ubuntu uses the GNOME Software application, which is the standard on a lot of distros. It handles app installations, but not libraries. It can open individual .deb packages though, and handle their installation.

Pop_OS ships with the Pop Shop, which is based on elementary OS's AppCenter. While it does not include the elementary apps, unfortunately, it still retains the same general look and feel and organization.

Neither distros ship with flatpak support enabled, but both support PPAs. Ubuntu does ship with snap support enabled while Pop_OS does not.

Since the PopShop does not handle deb packages, Pop_OS ships with Eddy, a simple elementary OS application, to handle these kind of files.

Repositories
App selection is pretty much the same here, since Pop_OS's repos are based on Ubuntu's. Pop_OS enables all of Ubuntu's repos by default.
It also adds its own repositories, in the form of an apt proprietary repo, including steam, Spotify, or VSCode, and a PPA.

Ubuntu, while it does enable the same repos by default, has its own way of shipping additional software, namely through the snap store, included directly in GNOME Software. You'll find a bunch of applications there that aren't in Pop_OS's repos, such as Plex, OBS, discord, or Zenkit.

Performance
In terms of measured performance, Ubuntu did use up a bunch more RAM by default, probably because of its larger application suite, using 2.3 GB of my 16GB of RAM.
Pop OS used a little less than 2GB when idle, but it did seem more fluid when interacting with GNOME shell, especially under load.
Animations felt faster and more responsive, and opening apps also seemed snappier.
It light be because PopOS ships with less stuff installed, but the experience felt smoother.

[TheLinuxEXP]

Hey ! I wanted to explore the differences between Pop_OS! and Ubuntu, on which it's based, let me know what you think ! Have you used Pop_OS yet ? Did you enjoy it ?

[kokapeli]

I have been using Pop Os for about a year and it is fantastic! Love it. My next laptop will be a system 76 if not only to support those dudes, great stuff!

[BadWolfPlays]

What you didn't mention is the fact that Pop! OS does an OEM install, which is why you setup the user after initial reboot. Kind of like buying a Windows computer. When you turn on your store bought pc or laptop for the very first time, you then have to setup the user.

I find that pretty cool. That's because I get older computers, upgrade them and give them away to families that are in need. Then when they power on the pc they get to setup the user.

[sudipchatterjee]

I don't know what do the system76 folks do, but man, pop_os feels buttery smooth! People who did not use it yet, I strongly urge them to do it. You can feel that when hardware manufacturers produce an OS, they make it count! Thanks for the nice comparison!

[AnzanHoshinRoshi]

Thank you, Nick. Pop has been my distro of choice since 17.10. The Fractal Mountain wallpaper with the Slim Dark theme is how I usually have it set (although I'll set up a different wallpaper for a few days now and the.) Pop's keybindings suit my workflow perfectly.

[mr.wonderful]

Excellent comparison. I favor the slick graphics of Pop! OS and it's Nvidia install option at the beginning.

[johnjoyce]

Wonderful side by side comparison. Nicely user-centric. Ubuntu partitioning IS easier and I also observe Pop_OS being much more responsive.

[fumeta]

Another user from Pop! here, for about 6 months. Just a really nice experience, above elementary and Ubuntu.

[breeze]

My 6 year old laptop kept bluescreening, finally just installed pop is, then tried and decided to stay with Ubuntu for now. Other than not every game working, those that do actually run better in most cases. Also it does feel nice to actually feel like I control what my computer does now. Also it doesn’t really crash anymore

[paulsammut]

Recently moved from Windows 10 to Pop OS and love it. It is so snappy even running on an old 2012 mac mini, and with the OS on an SSD it flies!. Clean UI without bloatware avoids distractions - I really do feel more productive. Taking a few minutes to learn basic keyboard shortcuts makes managing running apps and desktops a smooth, intuitive and almost enjoyable experience.

[SkunkK]

I also felt the snappier animations and fluidity of Pop!_OS, but both for sure felt better than 18.04

[HolyMarmot]

I'm currently using Pop_OS and I like it very much.

I did consider doing a bit of distrohopping, and I'm really liking the KDE that Manjaro offers.

I would suggest doing a video like this with Manjaro vs Pop_OS, with a bit of videogame Testing.

[MyurrDurr]

If I ever go back to using Ubuntu as a base, It will definetly be Pop OS I install! But Manjaro is my life currently :P

[shanTwo]

Is there anybody knows how to fix this Pcie Bus error when shutdown, slow boot up, and sometimes hangs on login screen on pop! _os?

[lowkeygaming]

I don't care much about the app store. I even forgotten it. I always use the terminal or download the .deb package to install something.

[tabiasgeehuman]

i like gnome shop, has support for flatpak, snaps and normal apps/debs.

[tomdillan]

I had issues with Ubuntu missing packages that had to manually installed with dependencies.

[christopheredwards]

One of my most important issue about Linux distribution is GPU driver. I've tried manjaro KDE and Ubuntu. Neither provides user friendly installation guide. Well, pop os shows perfect driver configuration with just click. I don't want to waste time on running through my laptop. What I need is Linux system that is prepared for work after installation.

[ParanoYa]

I'm not using pop os because my installation got corrupted when updating from 18.10 to 19.04. the final trigger to switch back to a rolling release again ...

[itechiwizard]

Debian + XFCE (atm)
Debian + lightdm + openbox (Expecting to have with Buster)