Ubuntu 24.04 LTS released

It wasn't too long ago that new Ubuntu releases were major happenings in the Linux world, as it was the default Linux distribution for many, both old and newcomers, in the desktop Linux space. These days, Ubuntu release hit a little different, with Canonical's focus having shifted much more to the enterprise, and several aspects of the distribution being decidedly unpopular, like the snap package management system.

Still, Ubuntu is probably still one of the most popular, if not the most popular, distributions out there, so any new release, like today's Ubuntu 24.0 LTS, is still a big deal.

Ubuntu Desktop brings the Subiquity installer to an LTS for the first time. In addition to a refreshed user experience and a minimal install by default, the installer now includes experimental support for ZFS and TPM-based full disk encryption and the ability to import auto-install configurations. Post install, users will be greeted with the latest GNOME 46 alongside a new App Center and firmware-updater. Netplan is now the default for networking configuration and supports bidirectionality with NetworkManager.

Utkarsh Gupta on ubuntu-announce

Of course, all the various other Ubuntu editions have also seen new releases: Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Cinnamon, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Studio, Ubuntu Unity, and Xubuntu. Yes, that's a long list. They all mostly share the same improvements as Ubuntu's main course, but paired with the latest versions of the respective desktop environments instead.

Except for Kubuntu. Unlike just about any other major distribution released over the last few months, such as Fedora 40 only a few days ago, Kubuntu does not ship with the new KDE Plasma 6, opting for Plasma 5.27.11 instead. There simply wasn't enough time between the release of Plasma 6 and the Ubuntu feature freeze, so they made the - in my opinion - understandable call to stick to Plasma 5 for now, moving Plasma 6 to the next release later this year.