It's Ubuntu-based, with some modified KDE desktop.
Well, actually, they themselves describe KDE Neon as "not quite a distro".
> Is it a distro?
> Not quite, it's a package archive with the latest KDE software on top of a stable base. While we have installable images, unlike full Linux distributions we're only interested in KDE software.
Anyway, I recently switched my laptop over to KDE Neon after my faithful FreeBSD install broke.
I have previously used KDE-based desktops on Fedora and on openSUSE. (And a lot of other DEs and distros over the years but the point was to speak about KDE.)
For my laptop I have been very satisfied with KDE Neon. Still debating whether or not to run it on my desktop.
Who knows, maybe they enabled some power management or browser hardware acceleration out of the box, which would make it immediately better than most attempts at a Linux general purpose OS. I saw no mention of that, only desktop environment features..
Speaking of which: I’m not too well versed on the state, but isn’t chromeos just a Linux browser with power management and hardware accelerated browsing? Ubuntu and fedora and as far as I’m aware none of the traditional distributions do that, instead they make desktop environments all day. Maybe it’s time for some market analysis?