Ubuntu 26.10, nicknamed 'Stonking Stingray,' is set for release and brings several significant innovations. Highlights include the inclusion of the Gnome 51 desktop environment, the adoption of the Linux 7.3 kernel, and the integration of the Rust language into command-line utilities.
Canonical plans to make this new version of the Linux distribution available in October, following its tradition of monthly releases. Gnome 51 was presented in September with a focus on improving user experience, performance, and security features, without major visual changes.
Gnome 51 improves the fluidity of animations and transition effects through the Mutter window manager, which helps reduce the risk of freezes or frame loss during these operations. Furthermore, it offers a more structured settings area, an easier-to-use window layout selector, and simplifies the fingerprint registration process.
A new accessibility feature in Gnome 51 allows users to reduce motion effects if they feel discomfort with them.
Ubuntu 26.10 uses Linux 7.3 as its base, although this is not yet an official version, as the latest is Linux kernel 7.2. The inclusion of 7.3 occurs because the distribution was built upon a release candidate of this kernel, which is expected to be officially announced on October 18th.
Linux 7.3 brings important advancements, such as better support for future AMD processors with Zen 6 architecture, greater compatibility with Intel Panther Lake chips, initial support for Apple M3 family chips, optimization of file systems like Btrfs, Ext4, and XFS, and performance adjustments in games when there is low video memory.
The new version also includes updates to native applications. The Files file manager, derived from Gnome 51, now displays the count of selected files during a drag-and-drop action. The Papers document viewer, also from Gnome 51, gained functionality to facilitate the insertion of handwritten signatures into PDFs, including the ability to remove the background of scanned digital signatures.
Another relevant point is the App Center, which not only facilitates the installation or update of various programs but also allows the user to locate necessary proprietary drivers for the computer in use, indicating that if the drivers do not appear, the PC already has the best available ones.
Other news includes the scheduled release of the final version of Ubuntu 26.10 'Stonking Stingray' for October 15th. Currently, the beta version of the distribution, which served as the basis for this article, is available for download, and the same link will provide the final version after the official announcement. It is recommended to use tools like Rufus to create installation or testing USB media.
For those who prefer alternatives to Gnome, it is important to remember that Ubuntu offers different 'flavors' based on other desktop environments, such as Kubuntu (KDE Plasma), Lubuntu (LXQt), and Ubuntu Mate, and most of them also receive updates.