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Zorin OS 18 Hits 1 Million Downloads in Just One Month
Quoting: Zorin OS 18 Hits 1 Million Downloads in Just One Month —
Also very interesting is the announced information that more than 78 percent of these downloads originated from Windows systems.
While it’s hard to say whether this surge is tied to the end of Windows 10 support, it’s clear that Zorin’s user-friendly approach and polished interface continue to draw more people—especially those looking for a Windows alternative.
So far, so good, but there’s a less pleasant side to the story. Along with celebrating 1 million downloads in a month, the team also announced that the upgrade path from Zorin 17 to 18 is now officially open for testing. And let me be clear right away: don’t try it yet.
XDA:
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780,000 Windows users downloaded this Linux distro in a month, and for good reason
Making the jump from Windows to Linux is a pretty daunting task. There are some things you have to learn, and others to unlearn, and ideally, you should start off with a distro that's as close to the Windows experience as possible. That way, you can spend some time testing out the waters and checking out the nuances without having to fight the UI.
For a while, I've always recommended Linux Mint as a de facto choice for people wanting to leave Windows. However, another operating system has been trying very hard to make itself as Windows user-friendly as possible. And it seems to have worked, as its developers claim that 780,000 people downloaded it from a Windows computer in the space of a month.
It's FOSS:
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Upgrading from Zorin OS 17 to 18 (In Early Access)
Last month, Zorin OS 18 dropped just in time for the Windows 10 EOL, bringing about an assortment of improvements like Linux kernel 6.14, rounded corners for the desktop interface, and a new window tiling manager.
So, it didn't come as a surprise to me when Zorin OS 18 hit the 1 million downloads milestone just over a month after its release. Alongside that announcement, the developers have made available an upgrade path from Zorin OS 17, which is intended for users of Core, Education, and Pro editions.
Fudzilla:
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Zorin OS 18 racks up a million downloads
Open saucy Zorin OS 18 has clocked a million downloads in a single month, which is not bad for a Linux distro trying to lure disillusioned Windows refugees.
Based on Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS (Noble Numbat) and powered by the Linux kernel 6.14, the release features a redesigned desktop interface with a floating, rounded panel, a lighter colour palette, increased tint for backgrounds and sidebars, and a new workspace indicator.
The Zorin developers revealed that about 78 per cent of those downloads came from Windows machines, meaning roughly 780,000 Windows users fancied giving the ISO a whirl.
No one knows how many of them went beyond grabbing the file and actually installed the thing, let alone stuck with it. The interest alone shows their pitch to make Zorin OS 18 feel like a comfortable home for ex-Windows types has clearly hit the mark with a curious crowd sniffing around alternatives.
Tom's Hardware:
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In wake of backdoored Windows 10 retirement, over 780,000 backdoored Windows users skip Win 11 for Linux, says Zorin OS developers — distro hits unprecedented 1 million downloads in five weeks
The Windows-like GNU/Linux distribution claims over a million downloads in the past month for its latest build, most of which came from backdoored Windows users.
How-To Geek:
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This Linux distro is seeing record downloads as people flee Windows
Zorin OS 18 features heavy web-app integration, allowing you to use the new Progressive Web App installer to turn services like Office 365 or Google Docs into standalone applications. Compatibility with Windows apps has also been upgraded in this release. While it still uses compatibility layers like Wine, the user-facing experience has been tweaked so more applications should run right out of the box without you needing to spend time fiddling with settings.
It should also be mentioned that Zorin OS can be a great Linux distro for Mac users as well. Zorin OS Pro includes layouts that can transform the interface into a macOS lookalike. These layouts give you a lot of control over how everything looks and feels.
With Microsoft continuing to double down on AI features and generally being a bit user-hostile with Windows 11, it's easy to see why so many people are looking elsewhere. Personally, I switched to macOS last year as a long-time Windows user. I can see the appeal of Zorin OS, but there are other Linux distros for Windows users to choose from, too.
In techradar:
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This Linux OS has got a million downloads since Windows 10 support ended – should Microsoft start worrying now?
A critically-acclaimed flavor of Linux is apparently doing very well indeed in terms of attracting defectors from Microsoft's desktop ecosystem following the end of support for Windows 10.
Tom's Hardware spotted that the developer of Zorin OS has again been boasting about the number of downloads it has accrued, following version 18 of the Linux distro drumming up 100,000 downloads in just two days after its release.
However, that's now hit a million, as we're told in a blog post: "We're thrilled to announce that Zorin OS 18 has amassed 1 million downloads in just over a month since its release, breaking all previous records."
Also:
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Linux-Based Zorin 18 OS Tops A Million Users After Windows 10 Support Ends — 780K Switch From Windows
Ending a 10-year run, support for Windows 10 was officially discontinued last month on October 14th, leaving millions of users stranded without security updates. Typically, it would make sense for these users to upgrade to Windows 11, but that didn’t happen this time.
Instead, most have been shifting to Linux, which can be regarded as one of the biggest OS migrations in the history of computing. Zorin 18, a Linux-based OS launched last month, reached 1 million users in its first month, of which 780k were Windows users.
Why it matters: Linux OSes are gaining tremendous popularity in recent times, driven by increased game compatibility and improved user experience, as demonstrated by Zorin 18.
The Microsoft spin:
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Windows 10 retirement pushes 780,000 users to Linux as Zorin OS Hits 1M downloads — but Microsoft still wants to evolve Windows 11 into an agentic AI OS
The Zorin OS developer recently disclosed that the Linux distro gained approximately 780,000 users from Windows, a little over a month since Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows 10.
Slashdot:
Linux Magazine:
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Zorin OS 18 Hits over a Million Downloads » Linux Magazine
Prior to the end of Windows 10, a lot of Linux distributions (and members of the open source community) were pushing the open source operating system for those with machines that weren't upgradable to Windows 11. The push was serious and everywhere. Many assumed it would fail, but one particular distribution proved that it was not the case.
The distribution in question was Zorin OS, and it enjoyed over a million downloads in just over a month. What is even more telling is that over 78 percent of those downloads came from Windows machines. That's not just Linux users going about the usual distro hopping; this is Windows users downloading an alternative OS. Of course, this broke all Zorin OS download records to date.