WWDC 2020 – How to Make Ubuntu 20.04 Look Like macOS 11 Big Sur.
Right after Apple released a fresh new look for macOS 11 Big Sur, people couldn’t help but draw comparisons between DeepinOS 20 and macOS 11. Well, I’m not going to delve into who copied whom? debate and just enjoy the best of both worlds.
DeepinOS V20 is still in beta testing and there are no themes or desktop environments available for download on Ubuntu yet. Hence, we have to settle for old themes, but with a little workaround, I found ways to get almost the same look of macOS 11 Big Sur on Ubuntu 20.04. Here’s how to do it.
How to make Ubuntu 20.04 resemble macOS 11 Big Sur
1. Install UbuntuDDE Desktop
If you don’t know, UbuntuDDE is an Ubuntu based distribution using the Deepin desktop environment.
Now, before we get into the process, installing a desktop environment is very different from installing a third-party theme. The desktop environment provides you with a different login screen, shell, settings, and default applications. Most importantly, you choose your desktop environment from the login screen. We’ll get to that question, and now let’s see how to install the UbuntuDDE desktop environment.
Open a terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T and run the following commands. sudo add-apt-repository ppa: ubuntudde-dev / stable sudo apt update sudo apt install ubuntudde-dde
During installation, you will be prompted to select a display manager. In case you don’t know, the display manager is what is displayed at the end of the loading process i.e. graphical login screen. By default Ubuntu uses gdm3 as its graphical manager. Hence, choose gdm3 over lightdm as this will avoid unnecessary dependencies and other configuration issues.
Log out of your current session when the installation is complete. To do this, click in the upper right corner of the shell and select Exit from the drop-down menu.
Then, on the login screen, click the gear icon at the bottom and select “Deepin” to switch to the Deepin desktop environment.
2. Rounded corners
After logging in, you will see the Deepin desktop environment.
The desktop has a dock at the bottom, similar to macOS, but the windows are not at all like those of macOS 11. Deepin’s file manager and system monitor will have rounded corners like macOS 11. But other applications will not. To force all applications to use rounded corners, we need to install deepin-gtk-theme. To do this, run the following command. sudo apt install deepin-gtk-theme
You will now see applications similar to the following.
3. macOS 11 wallpapers
The final step is to get a wallpaper for macOS 11. There is currently no dynamic wallpaper available on the Internet, unlike macOS Mojave. But the ones shown at the WWDC launch event are available to everyone. You can download them from this 9To5Mac article. I like the default Big Sur wallpaper the most, and this is how the desktop looks now.
The Deepin desktop environment has an excellent lock screen compared to Ubuntu and offers some really handy controls. There is enough blur to give the wallpaper a smooth gradient effect.
Closing words
Compared to UbuntuDDE, Deepin V20 is closer to macOS 11. However, it is still in beta testing and themes are not available for download. I’ll get back to it shortly as soon as it hits stable. Until then, let me know your home screen settings in the comments below.
Also Read: 10+ Best Themes for Ubuntu 20.04 in 2020