Ubuntu Software Store Rumored to Replace Gnome Software
An alternative to GNOME Software has been written, using Flutter, and it’s making enough noise that Canonical is rumored to be considering using it as the default.
A community-driven software store, named Ubuntu Software Store, has been written in Flutter and received so much positive attention that Canonical is, according to this Reddit thread, considering it as a replacement for GNOME Software.
The features found in Ubuntu Software Store include Snap support, dpkg/rpm support, an adaptive layout, install from file manager, remove and update software, permission manager, and search. But the most impressive aspect of Ubuntu Software Store is its speed. Unlike GNOME Software (on Ubuntu), which can be quite slow, Ubuntu Software Store is fast.
At the moment, the best way to test the new Ubuntu Software Store is via an AppImage that can be downloaded from the official Software GitHub page. Because this is very much in Alpha, users shouldn’t consider this new software store for production machines. However, Software is definitely in active development, with around 14 developers currently working on the project. Should you test the Alpha version, know that you’ll probably run into issues. Hopefully, Software will release v1.x soon and will then be made available for those wanting to enjoy a much more performant and reliable app store on Linux.
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