Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Beta released with GNOME 50, Linux kernel 7.0, Mesa 26

By Liam Dawe - 27 Mar 2026 at 8:17 am UTC

The next major release of Ubuntu is almost here with a Beta now available for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Long-term support) for testing and bug-hunting.

This Beta release includes Ubuntu Desktop, Server, WSL, Cloud products, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Studio, Ubuntu Unity, and Xubuntu. Since it's an LTS release, it will be supported until April 2031.

With this release we're seeing a major version bump for some of the essentials like the GNOME 50 desktop, Linux kernel 7.0 for expanded hardware support and Mesa 26 for all the latest graphics driver improvements. It's shaping up to be a truly excellent release across all flavours of Ubuntu (with my favourite being Kubuntu for KDE Plasma).

See everything in the release notes and release announcement.

The full release is due out April 23, 2026.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.

Tags: Beta, Distro News, Kubuntu, Misc, Open Source, Ubuntu, Upcoming

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About the author - Liam Dawe

I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
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2 comments

sarmad 4 hours ago

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Gnome 50 has a serious regression in graphics performance, so stay away from Ubuntu 26.04 until it's fixed.

https://www.phoronix.com/review/nvidia-595-kde-gnome

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Phlebiac 25 minutes ago

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Quoting: sarmadGnome 50 has a serious regression in graphics performance, so stay away from Ubuntu 26.04 until it's fixed.
https://www.phoronix.com/review/nvidia-595-kde-gnome

It wasn't clear from the article whether it's a regression, some major improvement in KDE, or something else. Would be nice if he compared with GNOME 49 and/or some other desktop environments to give a better idea. If it *is* a regression, hopefully they can track it down quickly. The differences were pretty large in some cases.

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