I have been using Haiku on and off since last year (2024) and I think it is really great and really refreshing. It is the closest (non-Windows) thing out there to ‘true’ simplicity and accessibility.
(Just to note: I am not a ‘power user’ or a big computer enthusiast, I’m closer to the average person and everyone in my circle only knows Windows and Mac. But I studied IT in the past hence I have some basic knowledge how it works. I imagine most others here are the techie type!)
I’ve been a long-time user of Windows and it’s been well for the most part. It was my curiosity that made me decide to try others after hearing much praise about Linux online. So since then I have tried Linux (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Arch, MX), FreeBSD, and now Haiku, on a number of my new and old PCs.
Haiku has been by far the best experience. I have to applaud the developers here honestly, because it has such a good design. It is extremely simple and intuitive, but very ‘human’. That is, it has friendly-coloured icons, menus that are simple to understand for even the most computer-illiterate, and amazing contrasts between different UI elements that make everything so straightforward and clear (which is a big problem in modern UI). From a design standpoint, Haiku is amazing. It doesn’t try to be ‘flashy’ or something it’s not, it’s just very well mannered and basic (yet without it looking archaic), a timeless simple and friendly look. It reminds me of Windows 2000/XP in some ways (and yet Haiku remains very unique).
It’s a total contrast to Linux, where the various interfaces (Gnome, LXDE etc.) often try too hard to imitate the look of Windows, and even when they don’t they still have a lot of the bad examples of ‘modern flat’ designs, like in the icons. (Yes, you can tinker around and change things to be more like Haiku/classic Windows, but that requires some effort which automatically makes it less user-friendly: I want it default out the box and Haiku provides that.) In fact, Linux has been a pain despite what so many people online have said. Each one of them gave me too many problems constantly that always made me look online for a long time to find solutions. Headaches that I almost never get with Windows, and Haiku. Even these ‘simple’ Linuxes required me to use terminal/command-line interface to get some things done (which I’d rather not) whereas Windows and Haiku don’t require it for those simple tasks.
Other than UI/UX, Haiku also shines in speed. It is so extremely fast! I even tried it on an old single-core laptop, and even on that it performed fluid and responsive. Faster than Win XP and even Linux with XFCE interface. Let alone how fast it is on the modern PC I use daily, so I find this very impressive and again well done to the developers.
Finally, Haiku is suiting most of my needs. Like I mentioned I am not a power user/enthusiast. All I need in a PC is simply: the ability for web browsing (plus video streaming, communication apps like Whatsapp, Google Meet within browser), use email, a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation maker (MS Office compatible), PDF viewer, an audio player, simple notepad and calculator tools, and a place to store my personal files and photos. Most of these are being served fine by Haiku (the browser was still lacking last year but it’s much better now), but the default Email client (which is so fast and simple again!) unfortunately doesn’t work with my Outlook email, so I’m using browser webmail for now.
Anyway that is all. Well done again to the makers, I hope Haiku will be successful. When someone like me likes it I think it is very telling that this is potentially the most ideal Windows alternative for PCs for the average Joe.