Ubuntu 26.04 ('Resolute Raccoon') LTS is out now

Nice! Kubuntu 26.04 LTS with Plasma 6.6 and Linux kernel 7.0 will benefit a lot of Linux gamers :)

Likely the best Ubuntu release ever! All so fresh yet very sturdy. This is also the first time when Ubuntu has a newer Linux kernel than Arch.

I'll give it about a week then upgrade. Just making sure no major bugs like last time, when they had to temp pull upgrade.

Last edited by kernelkid on 24 Apr 2026 at 1:31 pm UTC

Always wait for the .1 release for server usage.

it's now Wayland-only

I'm still running 24.04 with X11, so wonder how smooth the upgrade will go, and what will break.

But yay for the fresh Kernel (this time round I was always too lazy to manually install a more recent one, and from my experience with 22.04 at some point the version of glibc present on the system prevented further upgrading anyway, and then you're stuck without security fixes). Using an up-to-date Mesa from a PPA isn't a big deal though, and will soon enough be required for 26.04 as well.

Gnome 50 will likely again break half my extensions (as did Gnome 46), and since I do little more with the system than browsing the web and playing games, I don't think any of its features really make any difference to me. Perhaps if I had a display with HDR support.

Nonetheless, upgrade I will come 26.04.1.

Not sure how I feel about the forced switch to Wayland. I know, I know! It's the future. But I am still not 100% convinced it's fully ready to take over yet.

Oh, well, I won't have to deal with it until December anyway - which is when this release will make it into Mint 23.

Quoting: KimyrielleNot sure how I feel about the forced switch to Wayland. I know, I know! It's the future. But I am still not 100% convinced it's fully ready to take over yet.

Oh, well, I won't have to deal with it until December anyway - which is when this release will make it into Mint 23.

Look back at the first time Canonical said they would make Wayland the default. It's actually pretty funny.

Quoting: Ehvis

Quoting: KimyrielleNot sure how I feel about the forced switch to Wayland. I know, I know! It's the future. But I am still not 100% convinced it's fully ready to take over yet.

Oh, well, I won't have to deal with it until December anyway - which is when this release will make it into Mint 23.

Look back at the first time Canonical said they would make Wayland the default. It's actually pretty funny.

9 years ago?

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/04/ubuntu-will-run-wayland-default

They are really rushing it...

and a big one - it's now Wayland-only.

Just a reminder, only the standard/main edition of Ubuntu that will be Wayland-only, simply because the GNOME 50 desktop is Wayland-only. All the other desktop flavors will still be able to use an X.org session. Canonical confirmed this during the beta.

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/03/ubuntu-26-04-lts-beta-released-with-gnome-50-linux-kernel-7-0-mesa-26/?comment_id=292566

Last edited by Caldathras on 24 Apr 2026 at 7:04 pm UTC

Quoting: KimyrielleNot sure how I feel about the forced switch to Wayland. I know, I know! It's the future. But I am still not 100% convinced it's fully ready to take over yet.

Oh, well, I won't have to deal with it until December anyway - which is when this release will make it into Mint 23.

Wayland is a DE thing, so this doesn't mean anything for Mint. Since they're a lot more conservative with changes, they'll probably take a year or two to release Cinnamon with Wayland and then keep X11 for a while too.

I'm not sure why everyone is excited about the latest Ubuntu. The updated kernel has some very nice features, but the replacement of many of the basic utilities with RUST compiled versions leaves me very concerned. Heck, they couldn't even include the entirety of the suite of utilities that they wanted to replace due to security failures which have cropped up. They to want to recompile/recreate everything in GNU/Linux with RUST. I only ask you to wonder why? The fervor with which they seem to be moving and the control they are exerting on the direction of the GNU/Linux seems extreme. Most of the basic utilities (cp, rm, mv, df, du, ln, ....etc) have been in and working for years. They've been corrected and vetted repeatedly and are as stable as can even be possible, so, again, why replace them with new code written from scratch. The only benefit, I see, is to the corporations like Canonical and Red Hat, and that is to remove the GPL. I am an old IT fart and was around in the early days as I started in IT in 1985. GNU/Linux has become what it is due to the GPL being the way it is. By removing the need for the GPL, I can see a future where Linux will not be a truly free operating system. That corporations will come in and try to direct/mandate things and then eventually charge for aspects or even all of the OS. It will start with this change. Opening the door for copyrighted work to exist inside the core of the OS and an alternate licensing scenario that allows them to start charging. I encourage you to question everything. We've gotten to this point by keeping most of the development as projects of passion, but look at all the current developers which are actually employed by these corporations. They want to make money (what business doesn't), but the question is will it still be Linux? Will it still be a bastion of freedom to code what you want, to implement what you want moving forward, if we stand by and allow business needs and corporate greed to move Linux in the this direction?

I just received a new laptop with 26.04 on it. Spent yesterday starting the setup. It's really nice so far!