TUXEDO Computers has announced that their Linux distribution is moving away from Ubuntu, with Debian taking over as its new base. TUXEDO OS is the default choice on every TUXEDO machine, but it's not exclusive to their hardware, and anyone can just grab an image and run it on their computer.
Going forward, the distro will be based on Debian Testing instead of an Ubuntu LTS release, under what the company calls the Continuous Debian approach. The move is permanent too, as TUXEDO OS will not follow Testing into the next Debian stable release.
Behind the switch is also a fair bit of frustration with how Canonical has been steering Ubuntu lately. Announcing the rebase, they stated that:
By moving to Debian, TUXEDO OS gains substantially more independence while reducing the effort required to maintain up-to-date software. The result is a robust operating system with a clear focus on digital sovereignty—for both TUXEDO customers and users running TUXEDO OS on third-party hardware.
Done with Ubuntu
Source: TUXEDO Computers
TUXEDO says that an aging LTS base makes backporting harder as time goes on, since newer dependencies are often missing or stuck on outdated versions. Things get worse when core libraries like Qt (which KDE Plasma runs on) get updated and break software pulled from Ubuntu's repositories.
Snaps are another pain point, as Canonical keeps moving toward packaging and delivering Snap-only software, making it harder for TUXEDO to keep those components out of their distribution.
Similarly, the Ubuntu AI roadmap hasn't offered much clarity on how it will actually work, and slow security updates were the final points of contention.
The new base
With Ubuntu now gone, Debian Testing, the development branch of Debian, becomes the new base. New packages arrive here from Debian Unstable, but only after proving they build identically from the same source, a requirement Debian made mandatory back in May.
The switch is already visible under the hood too, as the internal testing version of TUXEDO OS is pulling from Debian's repositories instead of Ubuntu's (as shown above).
Why should you care?
Don't think that this is only a rebase; TUXEDO Computers is also working on introducing some major upgrades.
Btrfs becomes the default file system on new installs, paired with Snapper for automatic snapshots before every update. That is the same setup openSUSE has used for years, so it is a proven solution.
They haven't detailed their kernel strategy yet. My guess, and it's only a guess until TUXEDO confirms otherwise, is something closer to how Ubuntu or Fedora handle it, shipping recent kernels quickly instead of sitting on an older one for stability's sake.
A visual overhaul is also on the way, though they haven't locked in the new look yet, and current builds still run the old theme over the new Debian base. Gaming and enterprise use cases are both getting attention too, with the specifics being shared later.
If you are already running the Ubuntu-based TUXEDO OS, there is no direct upgrade path here. A clean install will be required, and TUXEDO says a full migration guide is coming before the final release shows up.
Alternatively, if you would rather stay on an Ubuntu base, the company will be offering a transition path to Kubuntu 26.04 instead.
When to expect?
An extensive beta testing phase kicks off in the coming weeks, aimed at non-production setups. Expect things to shift based on feedback and whatever release blockers turn up along the way.
If you want a more complete look at what they are cooking up, the next FrOSCon happening in August is the place to be. The TUXEDO Computers team will be presenting this new development direction in a dedicated talk.
