Manjaro 26.0 Anh-Linh is out, and honestly, this one lands at exactly the right moment. A lot of people I know are tired of Windows 11. Not mildly annoyed tired, but the kind of tired where every update feels like a negotiation and every new feature feels like something you did not ask for. Manjaro does not try to dazzle you with buzzwords here. It just works, and that is precisely why it feels like such a solid Windows 11 alternative.
The Manjaro team has been quietly refining this release since Zetar shipped back in April 2025. You can feel that patience in Anh-Linh. Nothing feels rushed. Nothing feels half baked. It is the kind of release that respects your time and your hardware, which already puts it ahead of Windows 11 for a lot of users.
The GNOME edition is a good place to start. Manjaro now ships a well polished GNOME 49 experience, and that matters because the early days of GNOME 49 were a little rough. Fast forward a few months and things feel dialed in. The Calendar app is a small but telling example. The interface adapts better to different window sizes, and you can hide the sidebar when space is tight. If you use a laptop or like tiled windows, this is the kind of detail that makes daily work less annoying. Windows 11 still manages to get basic window behavior wrong more often than it should.
Performance is another quiet win. GNOME Software finally feels snappy, even when dealing with massive Flatpak repositories. Memory usage is lower and browsing apps no longer feels like wading through mud. Anyone who has opened the Microsoft Store on Windows 11 and waited for it to catch up will appreciate this immediately, especially on older or mid range hardware.
Visually, Manjaro does not scream for attention, but it looks good where it counts. GNOME 49 brings a new set of wallpapers designed for HDR displays and wide color gamuts. Thanks to better color management and improved image handling, these wallpapers actually show off what modern screens can do instead of just looking like compressed stock photos. It is subtle, but it feels modern in a way Windows 11 often pretends to be.
Remote access is also better across the board. GNOME’s built in remote desktop features have been expanded, making it easier to connect back to your system without jumping through hoops or installing questionable third party tools. For anyone who occasionally needs to get into their desktop from somewhere else, this is practical progress.
If GNOME is not your thing, the Plasma edition is where Manjaro really flexes. Plasma 6.5 brings a bunch of long requested features without turning the desktop into a science experiment. Rounded window corners finally look consistent, but you can turn them off if you hate them. Automatic light and dark theme switching based on time of day works the way people expect it to, and you actually get to choose how it behaves. That alone feels refreshingly adult compared to Windows 11’s approach to personalization.
Permissions are clearer too. Application permissions are centralized, so you can see which apps can take screenshots or accept remote control requests. It is transparent and easy to understand, which should not be a radical idea, but here we are. Remote desktop support improves as well, with clipboard sharing and proper use of existing user accounts. Even little things like printer ink warnings and the ability to hibernate directly from the login screen show that someone is thinking about real world use.
Then there is Xfce, quietly doing its thing. Version 4.20 keeps the desktop light without feeling old. Thunar gets recursive search and file highlighting, which is genuinely useful if you deal with big directories full of similar files. Panel behavior is more predictable, settings are better organized, and the whole environment feels tuned rather than neglected. If you want speed and simplicity without giving up modern conveniences, this edition still makes a lot of sense.
Underneath it all, Manjaro 26.0 runs on Linux kernel 6.18, bringing the latest drivers and hardware support. If you have older hardware, you are not pushed aside either. Long term support kernels are still there. Compare that with Windows 11 telling perfectly good PCs that they are no longer welcome, and the difference in philosophy is impossible to ignore.
Manjaro 26.0 Anh-Linh does not try to sell you a future powered by vague promises and forced features. It gives you a solid, modern desktop that respects your choices. For anyone on the fence about ditching Windows 11 in 2026, this release makes Linux feel less like an experiment and more like the sane option. Download an ISO here now!
