Here at LXA we've talked I've talked a lot about distro-hopping. In short, it's about trying out distributions until you find one that completely satisfies you, something that doesn't always happen. On my main and secondary laptops I'm already comfortable with Manjaro, but the fact that the ARM version hasn't released a stable one for over a year has made me look at alternatives for my Raspberry Pi. Another Arch-based one that updates faster is Endeavor, and that's what I'm trying these days.
I have one Raspberry Pi 4 because about 5 years ago I wanted to make something like a set-top box, a "little box" to enjoy all the multimedia. I soon realized the architecture and that I couldn't use on the popular single board the same thing that I took for granted in any other PC. I have used it quite a bit to watch everything, but when I acquired my Steam Deck things have changed. The thing is that the Deck is a removable device, and for that reason I have, let's say, dusted off my RPi4.
EndeavourOS is almost Arch
“Manjaro is not Arch” is what you can read everywhere. They say this because, although they share the same base, they have a different philosophy. Arch uploads whatever comes out to its repositories, almost instantly. Manjaro has its Unstable, Testing and Stable branches, things arrive last when they have been tested and proven to work well together. For this reason, almost everything takes a couple of weeks at best to arrive, or months at worst.
This isn't as big of a problem on PC, but The ARM version is different. At the time of writing this article, The last stable one is from March 14, 2024, and as they insist that everything goes up suddenly and hand in hand, it is either resigned or move to Testing, whose most updated version does It's November and it already includes Plasma 6.2. A curious fact: Testing is more up-to-date than Unstable, or at least that's what it says on its forum.
Moreover, There are distributions that are more faithful to Arch, and EndeavourOS stands out among them. With some differences, EOS is like Arch, if it came with a graphical environment included by default, and also with everything necessary for the system to be used after installing it from scratch without much knowledge. Although they also decide when the packages arrive, it can be said that they arrive almost when they arrive in Arch.
More complicated, but worth it
EndeavourOS is more complicated than Manjaro. Or rather, Manjaro is simpler than EndeavourOSManjaro uses Pamac by default, a command-line-compatible software store that supports AUR, Flatpak, and Snaps, as well as drawing from the official repositories. EOS uses Pacman, the command-line package manager, and Yay, an AUR helper. It has the tools installed by default, but both without a GUI.
In terms of difficulty, it's the biggest difference someone like me can encounter, but the benefits outweigh the losses. Also, Pamac is available in AUR, as are other stores with a graphical interface like Bauh. I have decided to stick with Pacman and Yay. That and the installation, which is with an interface, but the old one with a blue background, not a desktop and Calamares to give some peace of mind.
Speaking of installation, it consists of two steps: first, the image is recorded this link on a USB or microSD device; then, when starting for the first time, we configure some parameters, such as WiFi, desktop and user, and then it performs/finishes the installation, which takes some time. The next reboot we enter the full system.
What I get with EndeavourOS on my RPi4
Basically, updated software and good performance. Raspberry Pi OS is not too bad, but the software comes from Debian and takes longer. On the other hand, I don't like how Debian handles things, and all of that made me switch to Manjaro. It's a distribution that I like, but the fact that it takes so long to update the system and most of the packages makes me feel uncomfortable. In the middle we have EndeavourOS, with an Arch base that receives the packages quickly and offers good performance. Mind you, I mention the good performance because I feel it; I haven't used any tools to see it in numbers.
I now have Kodi up to date, as well as any browser and emulator, which is almost all I need on my RPi4 if I want to use it to watch everything or play some low-demand games. Android is compatible, but Kodi gives me problems. Now all that remains is to see how it looks, if you'll pardon the redundancy, and if I run into any stumbling blocks. If so, I'll always have the Deck.