A slab with the pros and cons of a PC

By Bertel King - Published Apr 22, 2026

From the moment GNOME 3 launched back in 2011, I felt like it was perfect for a touchscreen, and I’m happy to say that it absolutely is. I’d even go so far as to say that the GNOME interface is a better way to navigate a touchscreen than that of Android or iOS. I’ve said before that I would love to see an official GNOME-only OS, and this experience has only strengthened that desire.

Every aspect of GNOME is easy to tap with a finger. Opening the app drawer and swiping between workspaces feels completely natural with three-finger gestures. Windows are easy to drag around, maximize, or pin to the side. The virtual keyboard that pops up when I tap an input field is the only visual distinction from desktop GNOME. (…)

  • Zak@lemmy.worldEnglish
    20·
    1 day ago

    I’ve been running Gnome on a Surface for a while. It’s an outstanding tablet UI except for its onscreen keyboard. The keyboard is terrible. I could write a full-length article about how terrible the keyboard is, but here are a few quick complaints:

    • No long-press layer; most other OSKs have a secondary layer to get numbers and punctuation via long-press
    • No way to move the cursor; it’s drag on the spacebar for most OSKs
    • No way to add the number row to the default layer; numbers always require tapping a key to activate the number layer
    • No arrow or modifier keys by default; they show up in Gnome Console, but I might use a different terminal app or need them elsewhere
    • No good way to switch to a third-party keyboard system-wide; even iOS has that now