Deepin is a Debian-based distro well-known among Linux users who value a visually appealing desktop. Aimed at the average computer user, Deepin sets itself apart from all others with the in-house developed DDE, one of the best-looking Linux desktop environments.
The quest for the best possible user experience continues in the just-released Deepin 20.8. So letโs have a look at what has changed.
What’s New in Deepin 20.8
The highlight of this release is the addition of a brand new Deepin Home app. Its creation aims to shorten the distance between developers and end users as much as possible.
Deepin Home enables users to receive real-time community news, interact and communicate with others, participate in questionnaires, etc. To make it better for community users, the developers plan to implement a tracking system for requirements and bugs and special feedback channels for software and hardware.
Under the hood, the Linux kernel is upgraded to 5.15.77, with version 5.18 also available for installation. In addition, new driver packages are integrated for users with NVIDIA GPUs: nvidia-driver-510, nvidia-graphics-drivers-470, and nvidia-graphics-drivers-390.
But letโs get back to desktop apps. Deepin 20.8 has paid particular attention to two main ones – App Store and File Manager.
The App Store has improved the speed with which Wine apps open after installation while optimizing the visual effect of the app update and management pages.
Furthermore, the app now supports copying and pasting comments on application details pages, providing users with a better downloading and using experience.
At the same time, the File Manager functionalities have been improved, making file management more “smart.”
For example, you can now save files on a disc as image files, rename and format external devices straight from the right-click menu, and design screensavers with your favorite images.
Aside from those mentioned above, other apps have also been improved. Mail now supports exiting a search by pressing the ESC key and has enhanced the overall interaction of the Contacts module.
The display of the back and forward buttons in the Browser app has been improved, and support for scrolling up and down bookmarks when they exceed the display space has been added.
Of course, Deepin 20.8 also brings numerous improvements and bug fixes across the entire Deepin Desktop Environment. So you can refer to the official announcement for detailed information about all changes.
Download
Be informed that Deepin 20.8 was a rather large download at 3.8 GB, and the direct download speed was underwhelming.
Additionally, if youโre new to Deepin and will try it, especially if youโre going to install it on a virtual machine, know that the Deepin installer requires you to have at least 64GB of disk space.
So, if you want to try it right now, the links to the installation ISO images are at the bottom of the official announcement.
