MacOS look-alike Linux distribution Apricity OS has been discontinued. As of now, even the website is not accessible anymore.
On May 6th, the developers of the Apricity distro posted a message stating that they were ending the project. The note said:
Like all good things, Apricity OS must come to an end. It has been our privilege to develop the operating system, and to be a part of a community as great as our own. But unfortunately, we no longer have time for its required upkeep. We hope that your time using our operating system has been enjoyable, and that you continue to explore using Linux in the future. You all, our users, have made this experience incredible for us, and we cannot thank you enough for the support. Sincerely, The Apricity OS Team
What was Apricity OS?
Apricity OS gained a decent following during its short 20-month lifespan. However, I’m sure that quite a few people don’t know what it was.
Apricity OS was an Arch based distro that came with a graphical installer to make it beginner friendly. It provided a nicely styled theme and included Wine and PlayOnLinux to ease the transition from Windows.
Another big feature was the inclusion of ICE, a site-specific browser manager that allowed you to use your favorite web app like an ordinary desktop application. This is why we considered it one of the few cloud-focused Linux distributions.
Final Thoughts
I only installed Apricity once before replacing it with Manjaro. As such, I don’t have very much experience with it, so my comments will be based on what I heard from others.
The general feeling I get is that Apricity didn’t do much to separate itself from the pack. Currently, if you want to use an easy version of Arch, you have two choices: Manjaro or Antergos.
Manjaro gives you a graphical installer, their own repos, and a number of tools to make running Linux easier. I have seen some people refer to Manjaro as the Ubuntu of the Arch world. Antergos, on the other hand, is basically Arch with a graphical installer and the Numix icon and wallpaper.
Apricity was aiming for a market that already has two big contenders who had saturated the market. In a world of too many distros, it goes lost in the shuffle.
I wish the Apricity OS team good luck on the next project.
Have you used Apricity OS in the past? If so, how was your experience? Will you miss it?
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