So with Zorin 18 presumably upon us in a matter of months, maybe now would be a good time to ask what the long-term plan is regarding Snaps and Flatpaks for Zorin OS overall. It's kinda moot to ask this, since Zorin does offer the option to install applications using Snaps, Flatpaks, and .DEBs. (I have removed the ability to install Snaps and Flatpaks from my Zorin OS install; my system has all .DEBs on it except for the Zorin themes still on it that are Snaps, I believe.) But with Ubuntu seemingly moving towards a future with Snaps only (or emphasizing them over other formats), it begs the question: What will Zorin OS look like in the future in terms of support for Snaps, Flatpaks, and .DEBs? Of course .DEB files will continue to be offered; Ubuntu is based on Debian, after all. But what about Snaps and Flatpaks? Linux Mint doesn't do Snaps. They do Flatpaks, but make it so that verified developers' Flatpaks are shown by preference in their software manager. I wonder what the Zorin Group's true stance is on Snaps. Again, Zorin OS offers users choice with Snaps, Flatpaks, and .DEBs, yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the Zorin Group (as a philosophical matter) supports Snaps, or the ongoing development of an immutable version of Ubuntu that uses only Snaps (slated for release later). I wonder. Will Zorin continue to offer support for all formats? Be nice to know the developers' personal take on this debate. EDIT: I think Zorin should move to Debian, by the way. One day!
I suppose this can only be answered by the developers themselves but I see no indication that they'll be removing support for any package format in upcoming versions of the OS.
In the past, they've stated:
Because of all of these reasons, we've decided to include support for both Snap and Flatpak out of the box in Zorin OS, in addition to AppImage and traditional .deb packages (using the APT package manager).
[...]
Nevertheless, we believe in the freedom to choose. If you don't wish to use one of these formats in Zorin OS, you can always uninstall Snap by entering this command in the Terminal:
And I agree with that decision, having more choices is better. My only wish is they make Debian packages the default in the software store, instead of Flatpak.
They are Flatpaks (unless they also have snap versions?):
This would certainly free them from the burden of fighting the upstream on every new update. I can say for sure that Debian is rock-solid and has given me no reason to not support this decision.
I guess the reason they're sticking to Ubuntu is to improve hardware compatibility and the continuous update of custom kernel versions. It certainly makes debugging a lot of issues much easier, given how Ubuntu is the most popular distribution and has a lot of people online talking about it, sharing bugs, etc.
The themes are snaps, flatpaks, and debs. They are installed in the three formats, and I think the purpose of that is to make sure the themes will display properly no matter what packaging format you use
With that in mind, removing the flatpak themes will only affect flatpak programs, same with snap
On Debian would be the Option to include Debian Backports (which came to my Surprise in Debian 13 by default) and then install the newer Kernels with that. to make that easier, they could develop a Kernel Manager to install the Kernels with a graphical Interface. I saw a Video about pikaOS (Debian Unstable Base). This offers a Kernel Manager Tool which was really simple in Design. Something like this on Zorin with Debian Base could be a nice Addition in my Opinion.
Of Course that would mean more work to develop that; that would be the downside. Another Point is the Driver Support for Nvidia, which seems to be on Debian 13 only be Version 550. So, for newer Driver it would be neccessary to install them manually or - if available - over Debian Backports. But that could maybe lead to Stability Issues.
In common, I'm nervous about the Snap Integration in Ubuntu. Linux Mint has made a good Choice to have LMDE as a Backup in my Opinion.
Ah, that makes sense. I usually only have either Debian or Flatpaks anyway. I've found Snaps to be the least reliable.
That's the benefit of being based of another distribution. In that regard, Canonical does a quite a good job. I think Zorin OS should run a parallel testing distribution based on Debian similar to LMDE... That way we could find out if it's a viable alternative.
That is a good Idea I would say. The Problem with this would be that they would have to support both. And when there are different Package Versions for Dependencies and different Gnome Versions for the Extensions and the Theming ... wouldn't be less Work. But indeed a nice Idea. I would like to see that - and of Course try it.
I also concur; the choice of packages should be the user's. That said, if we were ever to see an advanced install option as has been suggested a few times in feedback (the occasional suggestion to allow experienced users to select packages at install, as Mandrake did so very, very long ago), package formats would be a prime candidate for an install option, even without going so far into the weeds as "I don't own a printer; I don't need CUPS."
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