Ubuntu 25.10 on Zephyrus G15: A Reliable Daily Driver?

After 25 years on Linux, I recently discovered GhostBSD, but my journey with Linux isn’t quite over, especially when it comes to my Asus Zephyrus G15 laptop. I had been running CachyOS, which performed beautifully. It was fast, responsive, and well-optimized for the hardware. But it came with one dealbreaker: huge system updates. In one month alone, I clocked over 5 GB in updates. That’s just not sustainable for my workflow.

So I decided to test Ubuntu 25.10, just a live boot, to see how it behaves on this hardware. What I didn’t expect was that it would work so well, I’d end up installing it permanently.

🪫 Battery Health Charging Extension

The Battery Health Charging plugin is a game-changer for Zephyrus users. Without it, setting battery charge limits would be nearly impossible since asusctl is difficult to install and maintain. In Ubuntu 25.04, it installed but didn’t function which is why I switched to CachyOS. But with GNOME 49 on Ubuntu 25.10, it works flawlessly.

I tested it by:

• Playing a 720p YouTube video in Firefox
• Monitoring battery status in GNOME Settings > Power

Result: The extension kicked in exactly as expected. This is a huge win for Zephyrus users who care about battery longevity.

Confirmed: Battery Health Charging GNOME extension works 100% on Ubuntu 25.10.

Hardware Compatibility: Surprisingly Great

Here’s a breakdown of what worked:

Displays

• The internal display scaled to 133% out of the box. Perfect.
• My ultrawide 1440p external monitor was recognized instantly with no issues.

Bluetooth

Tested with a Satechi Slim keyboard and Alibaba M10 mouse, both paired nicely and stayed connected through the session.

Wi-Fi

Though I don’t use Wi-Fi regularly, the adapter detected local SSIDs with no problem.

Fonts & UI

Initially, the fonts looked a bit thin on my 1440p screen, but switching to dark mode made everything sharp and legible again. If you’re a dark-theme user, this is a non-issue.

Temperature Readings

To check thermal behavior, I installed lm-sensors. While streaming YouTube and performing light tasks, here’s what I saw:

CPU (Tctl):         +49.5°C  
GPU (edge temp):    +49.0°C  
Wi-Fi (mt7921):     +44.0°C  
NVMe:               +37.9°C  
Ethernet:           +46.5°C  
Battery (PPT):      3.00 W

The warmest area was above the F6–F8 keys, but nothing out of the ordinary. Thermal performance is on par with CachyOS.

Bonus Win: No More Flashing Keyboard Lights!

One minor (but infuriating) issue I had with other distros was the flashing keyboard backlight during suspend. It sounds trivial, but seeing your laptop pulse like a rave in your bag is not a great experience.

To my surprise, and delight, Ubuntu 25.10 handles suspend mode perfectly. The keyboard backlight stays off when it should. No flashing. No tinkering. It just works.

Note: CachyOS can use asusctl which also fixes this nuisance.

Why Switch at All if CachyOS Was Great?

While CachyOS was technically flawless, two things tipped the scale for me:

1. Update fatigue: Constant large updates (multiple GBs per week) made maintenance a chore.
2. Virtual machine networking: virt-manager on CachyOS couldn’t give VMs internet access out of the box. Ubuntu’s version just works.

These aren’t dramatic failures, more like quality-of-life decisions. Ubuntu’s lower-maintenance ecosystem won the long game.

Final Thoughts

Ubuntu 25.10 isn’t just a backup OS anymore, it’s now the primary system on my Zephyrus G15. It has restored that classic Linux feel I missed, without the headaches of constant maintenance. And while I still love what CachyOS offers under the hood, Ubuntu strikes the right balance between usability, stability, and ease of system administration.

If you’re running a Zephyrus G15 and looking for a clean, dependable distro that works out of the box, give Ubuntu 25.10 a serious look.

Final verdict: Surprisingly elegant, refreshingly low-maintenance, and fully Zephyrus-compatible.