As a long-time Linux user and owner of an Asus Zephyrus G15, I’ve been running CachyOS for the last two years. It’s fast, responsive, and the best Linux distribution for this laptop.
But there’s a downside: massive update sizes. In one month alone, I clocked over 5 GB of downloads just for system updates. It’s not just the updates, also the uncertainty if something would break and because of that, I decided to give Ubuntu 25.10 a spin, literally. I live-booted it on my Zephyrus without installing, just to see how well it plays with the hardware right out of the box.
Battery Health Charging Extension: It Works!
My main reason for testing Ubuntu was to check compatibility with the Battery Health Charging GNOME extension. In the past, the extension installed but couldn’t be activated. I’m happy to report that with GNOME 49, this must-have power management extension for Ubuntu users now works perfectly.
To test it, I:
- Unplugged the laptop
- Opened Firefox and played a 720p YouTube video in full-browser mode
- Opened GNOME Settings > Power to monitor battery drainage
Confirmed: The Battery Health Charging GNOME extension works 100% on Ubuntu 25.10 + GNOME 49.
Hardware Compatibility: Very Good
Here’s a rundown of what worked and what I tested:
Displays
The laptop display automatically scaled to 133%. Nice!
Battery
The Battery Health Charging GNOME extension works again. Great!
Bluetooth
The Satechi S1 Slim keyboard and Bluetooth mouse both paired without issues and the connection remained stable.
Wi-Fi
I don’t use Wi-Fi, but it’s working because I saw the SSIDs it detected.
Note on Fonts: Initially, the system font looked thin and not very sharp on my 1440p display. But switching to the dark theme dramatically improved legibility, so it’s a non-issue if you’re already a dark-mode user. If not, well, that is a different story.
Why Consider Ubuntu 25.10 at All if CachyOS Runs Great?
Two main reasons:
- Massive updates: CachyOS updates aggressively, often requiring huge downloads.
- Backup plan: Ubuntu 23.10 was the last version that ran smoothly on my Zephyrus. I wanted to see if 25.10 could serve as a reliable fallback.
This test confirmed that:
- Ubuntu 25.10 boots cleanly on an ASUS Zephyrus laptop.
- Core hardware is supported.
- Battery management is fully functional.
- Compiling tools like
asusctlis possible but I opted for the Battery Health Charging extension instead. - The fingerprint reader isn’t usable (no driver support yet).
Since I always use dark mode, I decided to install Ubuntu 25.10 as my main OS. If dark mode wasn’t an option, I would definitely skip it as those fonts are just too hard to read without it.
Final Thoughts
Ubuntu ran reliably on the Zephyrus, but I noticed a delay when launching apps. The more I used it, the more that two-second lag bugged me. Compared to GhostBSD and macOS, where everything opens instantly, it felt longer every day.
Before reinstalling CachyOS, I tried Manjaro GNOME Minimal edition. Unfortunately, installing it messed up LUKS encryption, leaving the system unbootable. Thankfully, my Windows 11 USB always fixes what Linux can’t.
Now, I use Windows 11 Pro. Installation was fast (setup took ~40 minutes), and performance is actually better than I expected. Ubuntu 25.10 remains a capable option, but at this point, I wouldn’t call it the best fit for an ASUS Zephyrus laptop.