Desert OS: Can XFCE Really Look Like macOS?

If you spend enough time around the Linux community, you will often hear about lightweight distributions built on desktop environments like XFCE. Usually, "lightweight" comes with a predictable look: functional, retro, and minimal.

Recently, comments kept rolling in asking for a review of a project called Desert OS:

"Try it! Desert OS 🐧. Please review Desert OS. It is very lightweight and has an easy UI."

Curiosity won out. Here is an honest, first-look dive into what Desert OS offers, how it performs, and whether it lives up to the hype.

What is Desert OS?

Desert OS is a customized Linux distribution built around the lightweight XFCE desktop environment and powered by an Ubuntu LTS base (offering long-term stability and updates).

You can check out the project and its release notes directly on the official Desert OS website.

At roughly 3 GB for the ISO image, it sits right in the standard range for modern Linux distributions. But what makes Desert OS turn heads isn't just the Ubuntu foundation—it is the visual makeover.

First Impressions & Key Features

Stock XFCE is known for being utilitarian. Desert OS, however, completely transforms it into something resembling a modern macOS desktop blended with elements of Windows.

Here are the headline features highlighted by the system:

1. Wallpaper-Adaptive Theming: The desktop accent colors automatically shift to match your current background.

2. Glass & Transparency Effects: Transparent windows, panels, and blurred backdrops give the OS a modern aesthetic out of the box.

3. Live Video Wallpapers: Native support for animated .mp4 video backgrounds on both your desktop and login screen.

4. macOS-Inspired Layout: Window controls on the top-left, a centered bottom dock, a top status bar, and a full-screen application launcher.

5. Dynamic Window Tiling: Built-in tiling support ("cortile") for users who prefer organized, side-by-side workspace snapping.

6. Pre-Loaded Essentials: Comes ready out of the box with exclusive utility tools and common applications pre-installed.

The Setup & Installation Experience

The installer itself is clean and straightforward. Running it inside a virtual machine with 8 GB of RAM allocated, the initial desktop loaded with a sharp aesthetic.

Right away, the influence is obvious:

• The top panel houses the Desert OS menu and quick system shortcuts.

• The dock sits cleanly at the bottom.

• The full-screen app drawer opens smoothly, packed with everyday software.

For anyone who likes the sleek glass aesthetics of macOS, Desert OS certainly catches the eye.

Where It Shines vs. Where It Struggles

While Desert OS is visually ambitious, real-world testing revealed a few rough edges:

What Works Well:

• Stunning Visual Overhaul: It is genuinely impressive how modern and sleek XFCE can look when heavily themed.

• Smart Color Matching: Changing wallpapers adjusts system hues and accents automatically without manual tweaking.

• Ready to Use: You do not need to spend hours configuring docks, icons, or widgets—it looks polished the moment you finish installing.

Areas for Improvement:

• Aggressive Transparency: The app launcher and system windows have heavy transparency. Without strong background contrast, text and icons can sometimes become difficult to read.

• Resource Demand: While XFCE is inherently lightweight, heavy compositor effects (blur, shadows, and live video wallpapers) require noticeable graphics power. In a virtual machine environment, animations and the lock screen experienced noticeable stutter.

• Settings & Customization Glitches: Adjusting compositor settings can occasionally cause blur or transparency effects to vanish until a relog or reboot.

The Verdict: Should You Try Desert OS?

Desert OS is a creative, passionate community project that shows just how flexible Linux desktop environments can be. The developer has managed to make classic XFCE look like a modern, glassy operating system.

However, because heavy visual effects counteract some of the traditional lightweight benefits of XFCE, it is best experienced on real hardware or a dedicated test machine with 3D acceleration enabled, rather than in a bare-bones virtual machine.

If you enjoy tinkering with unique Linux distros or want an out-of-the-box Mac-like visual style without configuring it from scratch, take a look at the Desert OS website and test it on a spare drive!

I’ve also made a video on this topic — you can watch it below.

https://youtu.be/uq4vnFP17iE

Check out my other posts, I post useful tutorials and tech tips, maybe you will find something useful 😉.