Review: COSMIC Desktop (Alpha)
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COSMIC, whether in tiling or floating mode, appears to be set up to work best with a small number of windows open; it feels like a desktop for running just one or two applications at a time. Once I had added more windows it became more time consuming and awkward to switch between my programs. I often leave my computers running for days or weeks at a time, often with around 10 to 12 applications open on my desktop. COSMIC's window switching and arrangement doesn't seem well suited to this. On the other hand, COSMIC also seems to forget window placement and dimensions so I had to resize and move newly opened applications each time I launched them. Therefore, it was awkward to have too many windows open, but it was also inconvenient to close windows and relaunch them later.
In general, I think COSMIC is doing a lot of things well. In fact, I'd say it's running surprisingly well for an alpha release with just a handful of applications. The design looks really nice and I like how responsive and smooth the desktop feels. There are a few rough points, particularly when using applications developed for other desktops or when a lot of windows are open. However, I suspect those concerns will get sorted out in the coming months. COSMIC appears to be starting with a good desktop that has its own identity while borrowing useful features from other interfaces. Best of all, the desktop uses sane defaults while offering flexibility through the settings panel.
I'm not ready to recommend it yet as a daily driver, but I suspect I will be suggesting it to new users in another year.