Why is Linux still trash in 2025?

Perhaps you should pick a different desktop environment

Because it reached it's peak - when community interest was big, FOSS participation interest was big, even corporate interest was big, and desktop OS interest was also big - and didn't manage to fully catch up to the areas it was lacking.

It's still better in other areas, and of course, freedom and lack of surveillance, but regarding catching up to Windows and macOS in UI maturity and convenience, it's too late.

(And programmer/admin types, or people who "set it for their 70 year old parents and they use it just fine" are not a counter-argument).

Fortunately, macOS and Windows are going downhill UI wise too, so maybe they'll meet Linux further down, and Linux might even surpass them.

Update: I switched from Wayland to X11 and the stutter has disappeared.

I don't think Windows 11 is as responsive as I wish it was. I don't have any complaints about my M4 Mini yet but if I used it to do tasks I didn't want to do that was late (psychology matters on how annoying unresponsiveness is) or had as much installed on it as I have on the Windows (e.g. things like Adobe Creative Cloud or the backup manager on my machine at work make full startup take 10+ minutes) or installed iOS 26 I might feel differently about it.

I thought mobile OS were a big advance in responsiveness circa 2012: today my feelings are mixed. Low end Android phones are so bad it's easy to say "why do people get so excited about apps when it takes five minutes to load one?", my iPhone is clearly fine tuned to deliver notifications instantly, but my iPad sometimes has that out-to-lunch daydreamy feeling that Windows gives.

Interesting, I have the opposite opinion. I'm considering switching from Windows to the KDE Plasma desktop and so far I'm impressed with it. Plasma is the first Linux desktop I've used that feels polished and professional. It is more customizable than Windows is. I'm looking to avoid Win 11 with its telemetry, background downloads, advertisements, OneDrive problems, etc.

“Trash” is too harsh of a word, but I do feel that desktop Linux lacks the fit-and-finish of Windows and macOS. It boils down to development resources. The Mac ecosystem has a much smaller number of hardware configurations that macOS needs to be concerned about. Apple has the resources to test these configurations. Even in the PC ecosystem with its plethora of hardware configurations, Microsoft is also a well-resourced company and is thus capable of testing a wide range of configurations. The Linux ecosystem, on the other hand, is much more loosely coordinated among many different parties that may or may not be acting in accord with each other. There are no Apple- or Microsoft-level entities investing hundreds of millions of dollars into desktop Linux development.

In fact, given the circumstances, it’s quite impressive we have desktop Linux at all. Even with its Sisyphean setbacks, it’s come quite a long way compared to 20 years ago when I first started using Linux.

I understand you. I'm forced to be used by Windows at work. There are so many problems I already forgot most of it. But still, every bluetooth connections hangs the mouse for 2 seconds, explorer worst program ever written ever in any operating system. Windows boots with 7GB of ram being used of the 8 the machine has. Every day I collect some goodies for a book or page to show how bad it is. It is worst than the worst Linux you can find. And it should not be because the amount of money goes into it, it's absurd. Then people go into Mac because while being bad for privacy and a lock environment, it is still best than Windows. But Linux is not like any of those. Some companies that take care of a specific distro, make a good job, including Ubuntu, that I really don't like. But you do have a stable RockyLinux or Manjaro, both with a few supported desktop environments that work. I also don't like Kubuntu or anything from Ubuntu. Gnome works but I don't like it. So all that is left if Plasma and XFCE. You do have many others that are nice, but it is better to test them out first, on real hardware. There are a few things that only work on Windows, mostly software that checks if it is not Windows. But you do have all on Linux. Desktop environments and windows managers, server software and games, email, graphics, you name it! You also have Windows software that runs better on Linux. Updates? Lol! Windows updates? Yeah sure. And people say ArchLinux is too rolling! LOL! Do you know how many updates Teams gets in the morning? Yes, wait for the afternoon. Ok so what is my choice? ArchLinux with XFCE. I do like Manjaro on all flavours. Love RockyLinux also.

Probably Gnome software center is trash, try Debian with `apt instal X` 20y never disappointed

Are you using a Bluetooth mouse? I've noticed some Apple devices (AirPods) can cause interference with mouses (some Logitech models).