3 reasons FydeOS is a top-tier operating system for the Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi ecosystem boasts an extensive suite of operating systems, ranging from general-purpose distros like Ubuntu and Kali Linux to more specialized OSes like Batocera, LibreELEC, and OpenWRT. If you’re willing to venture deep into the recesses of the Raspberry Pi ecosystem, you’re bound to come across quirky hidden gems waiting to be used for your tinkering projects.
FydeOS is one such distro that’s rarely discussed in the Raspberry Pi community – which is a shame, as it’s one of the most feature-rich operating systems for the SBC. So, if you’re looking for a new OS to test on your Raspberry Pi, here are some reasons why FydeOS might be up your alley.

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A simple, easy-to-navigate UI
After all, ChromeOS distros are designed to be as beginner-friendly as possible
Simplicity and ease of access are essential features for a desktop OS, and FydeOS has one of the most approachable user interfaces in the Raspberry Pi ecosystem. The reason? It’s an offshoot of ChromiumOS that, in turn, is based on the intuitive ChromeOS powering most Chromebooks.
Don’t get me wrong: the Raspberry Pi OS, Ubuntu, and Debian are great for newcomers and tinkerers who want a no-nonsense UI for their SBC. But FydeOS feels even more like your average desktop operating system – and you’ll have zero issues getting used to it if you’ve been a macOS or Windows user all your life.
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Support for Linux and Android subsystems
On top of the large web app ecosystem
The software makes or breaks the operating system, and FydeOS isn’t lacking in the app department by any means. For starters, the FydeOS web store includes the standard browser-based Chrome applications and extensions you’d expect from a ChromiumOS distro. If you’re a productivity-oriented user whose daily workloads involve Google’s software suite, these web apps can cover most of your needs.
It also supports Linux development environments, allowing you to install the same ARM64 tools and packages as typical Linux distros. If that’s not enough, FydeOS even ships with an Android subshell, making a host of Android apps, games, and emulators accessible on your Raspberry Pi. The best part? Setting up the Google Play Store barely takes a few minutes, which is a far cry compared to the long, drawn out process on LineageOS, an operating system purposely designed to run Android apps. And that’s before you consider the responsive nature of FydeOS…
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Lightweight and performs really well
It’s even faster than the Raspberry Pi OS!
My biggest issue when using my Raspberry Pi 5 as a laptop was finding an operating system that wasn’t rife with performance issues. Sure, the Raspberry Pi OS is good enough for really light everyday tasks, but its performance takes a massive hit should you attempt more intensive workloads, such as opening too many browser tabs or watching videos at high resolution.
In contrast, FydeOS holds up surprisingly well for most tasks. The operating system itself is fairly responsive even without an SSD, and I had zero performance issues working with multiple documents, browser tabs, and coding apps – all at the same time, no less. It can even hold its own against Android games. While the more demanding titles like Into the Dead 2 can’t run at decent frame rates, most of the casual games deliver a fairly responsive experience with a controller. So long as I turned off all other apps, I could even run PPSSPP titles at 2x resolution without running into crashes or performance issues on FydeOS. Throw in the fact that you can run other Android-based retro game emulators, and FydeOS is as useful for productivity-driven tinkerers as it is for gaming enthusiasts.
It’s hands-down the best OS for a Raspberry Pi laptop
When I first tried out FydeOS last October, I was quite impressed with it. However, my recent experiment using the Raspberry Pi 5 alongside the CrowView Note 14 to build a functional laptop truly opened my eyes to its perks.
That said, my biggest caveat with FydeOS is that it’s only available on the Raspberry Pi 4, 5, and 500 models, so you’ll need a fairly recent RPi SBC to try out this feature-laden OS.

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