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blendOS v3: The Latest Version of the Immutable Distro is Here!

blendOS v3 has arrived with significant upgrades!

blendOS is an immutable distro that aims to replace all Linux distributions. We recently covered it with its previous version. The project is led by Rudra Saraswat, the lead developer of Ubuntu Unity. Its development has been progressing at a good pace.

With a recent announcement, they have introduced a new release equipped with many improvements, bringing blendOS closer to its goal.

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Let's take a look at what's in store with this release.

🆕 blendOS v3 “Bhatura”: What's New?

a screenshot of blendos v3's desktop
Image Credits: blendOS

Being an Arch-based distro that supports most app packages, the latest release of blendOS takes its name from a delectable dish from the Indian cuisine called 'Bhatura'.

This release has a lot to offer; the notable highlights include:

  • Better Desktop Environment Support
  • Intuitive Application Installs
  • Additional Distribution Support
  • Improved System Updates
  • New Command Line Utilities

Better Desktop Environment Support

a banner showing the new desktop environment support on blendos v3
Image Credits: blendOS

blendOS now has support for 7 desktop environments, which include the following:

Now that's a lot of support! 🤯

You can easily switch between these by running the 'system track' command in the terminal.

Intuitive Application Installs

a banner showcasing the updated application install experience on blendos v3
Image Credits: blendOS

This release of blendOS now brings the ability to double-click a DEB, RPM, pkg.tar.zst or even an APK package to install them into a container.

📋
For APKs: You will need to enable Android app support from the settings app.

Additional Distribution Support

Image Credits: blendOS

blendOS now supports ten distributions for running in containers, with the ability to run NixOS with a single/multi-user installation. Here are the supported distros:

  • Arch
  • AlmaLinux 9
  • Crystal Linux
  • Debian
  • Fedora 38
  • Kali Linux (rolling)
  • Neurodebian Bookworm
  • Rocky Linux
  • Ubuntu 22.04
  • Ubuntu 23.04
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Improved System Updates

a banner showing the new system update flow chart on blendos v3
A flow chart depicting the update flow on blendOS v3.

blendOS v3 uses ISOs for system updates; unlike conventional distros, this allows for a system to be rebuilt with the update size being in the 10-100 MB range.

It is thanks to zsync, that the update download size is so tiny. Updates are downloaded in the background, and on the next boot, the current root file system is replaced while keeping any custom system packages intact.

According to the developer, this update system is intended to resolve a significant flaw with rolling distros like Arch Linux by preventing any data loss or system failure, providing excellent stability.

New Command Line Utilities

a banner showing the new cli utilities on blendos v3

And finally, two new command line utilities have been introduced; one is 'system', and the other is 'user'.

'system' will allow you to install packages, and even switch tracks. Whereas, 'user' will enable you to create/manage containers and their associations.

That's about it. For the highlights of this release, you can go through the release announcement blog to learn more about this delicious release.

📥 Download blendOS v3 “Bhatura”

blendOS v3 is available in seven distinct editions that range from a GNOME edition all the way to a Deepin one.

You can grab them from the official website, where you can also go through the installation guide.


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