Any plans for ARM64 version

[gyszokolay]

AnduinOS is just beautiful. Congratulations! Are there any plans in the near future to create a version for ARM64 systems?

[Anduin2017]

ETA 2026.04.

[gyszokolay]

Thanks, waiting for the date ~ 2026.04.

[gyszokolay]

Just read, your comment here #279 (comment) regarding ARM. So this means there will be no image/ISO for Raspberry 4 and 5?

[Anduin2017]

Hi @gyszokolay,

To be completely honest, your question touches on a fundamental issue that I have been debating internally for a long time. It’s not just about the Raspberry Pi; people have asked me about AnduinOS Server, AnduinOS Docker images, and even AnduinOS for ESP32.

These requests force us to face a core existential question: What should AnduinOS ultimately become? Or, why does AnduinOS exist?

I am well aware of the criticism that AnduinOS currently lacks deep innovation and is seen by some as "just a themed Ubuntu" (perhaps with the only major change being the removal of Snap, XD). I accept this. However, just as Manjaro started as essentially an Arch installer + theme, I believe there is immense value in a polished "Out-of-the-Box Experience." That was the goal for the initial stage.

I can commit to a generic ARM64 release. Many ARM devices (especially servers) are powerful enough and adhere to UEFI/ACPI standards. Porting our software stack to these platforms is straightforward—it’s mostly a matter of recompiling and filling in a few missing dependencies.

Regarding Raspberry Pi:
This is where I am hesitant. Replicating the full, heavy AnduinOS UI experience on a Raspberry Pi is difficult to do perfectly. More importantly, I doubt the community is truly asking for "a Raspberry Pi OS that looks like Windows 11."

This brings us to the crossroads (or the "mountain," as I see it). To move forward—whether towards Enterprise solutions, Containerization, Immutable File Systems, or full RISC-V support—I feel like I need to "climb down the mountain" first. This means potentially abandoning the comfortable definition of being an "Ubuntu wrapper" and rebuilding our foundations, perhaps even from scratch.

My evolving focus is shifting towards Enterprise Compliance and AirGap deployment. I see a huge pain point in corporate environments (like classic foreign enterprises) where "compliance" and "offline deployment" are nightmares.
Imagine an OS where you plug in a USB drive, install it, and have a system that is pre-loaded with all necessary certificates, VPNs, and development environments—capable of passing security scans without ever touching the internet. Might be my primary plan.

So, while I promise a generic ARM version, I have not yet figured out the philosophy or the "Why" behind a specific Raspberry Pi version. If I can find a compelling reason and a sustainable way to support it within this new vision, I will.

I am keeping this open and I look forward to more community feedback. I intend to keep the entire development and thought process transparent.

[gyszokolay]

Thank you for your detailed response and for sharing the some internal behind the scene info around shaping AnduinOS. It’s clear that you’re approaching these decisions with a lot of care.

On the topic of Raspberry Pi, I agree that replicating a full AnduinOS experience on such limited hardware could be challenging, in terms of performance and also not really what the community want.

Looking forward to seeing the upcoming version of AnduinOS!