The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the Beta release of the Ubuntu 25.04 Desktop, Server, and Cloud products.
Ubuntu 25.04, codenamed “Plucky Puffin”, continues Ubuntu’s proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. The team has been hard at work through this cycle, introducing new features and fixing bugs.
This Beta release includes images from not only the Ubuntu Desktop, Server, and Cloud products, but also the Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, UbuntuKylin, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Studio, Ubuntu Unity and Xubuntu flavours.
The Beta images are known to be reasonably free of showstopper image build or installer bugs, while representing a very recent snapshot of 25.04 that should be representative of the features intended to ship with the final release expected on April 17, 2025.
Ubuntu, Ubuntu Server, Cloud Images:
Plucky Beta includes updated versions of most of our core set of packages, including a current 6.14 kernel, and much more.
To upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04 Beta from Ubuntu 24.10, follow these instructions:
This Ubuntu Server image features the next generation Subiquity server installer, bringing the comfortable live session and speedy install of the Ubuntu Desktop to server users.
Additional images can be found at the following links:
As fixes will be included in new images between now and release, any daily cloud image from today or later (i.e. a serial of 20250327 or higher) should be considered a Beta image. Bugs found should be filed against the appropriate packages or, failing that, the cloud-images project in Launchpad.
The full release notes for Ubuntu 25.04 Beta can be found at:
Lubuntu is a flavor of Ubuntu which uses the Lightweight Qt Desktop Environment (LXQt). The project’s goal is to provide a lightweight yet functional Linux distribution based on a rock-solid Ubuntu base.
Ubuntu Studio is a flavor of Ubuntu that provides a full range of multimedia content creation applications for each key workflow: audio, graphics, video, photography and publishing.
Regular daily images for Ubuntu, and all flavours, can be found at:
https://cdimage.ubuntu.com
Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for clients, servers and clouds, with a fast and easy installation and regular releases. A tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away.
Professional technical support is available from Canonical Limited and hundreds of other companies around the world. For more information about support, visit https://ubuntu.com/support
If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at:
Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions really help us to improve this and future releases of Ubuntu. Instructions can be found at: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs
You can find out more about Ubuntu and about this Beta release on our website, IRC channel and wiki.
It’s been a little over 100 days since elementary OS 8 was released, and we’re proud to announce another round of updates, including a fresh new download. We’ve been hard at work this winter addressing issues that you reported and we’ve added a couple new creature comforts along the way. This bug fix release also includes the latest Ubuntu LTS Hardware Enablement Kernel, so it’s worth checking out if you downloaded OS 8.0 and it disagreed with your hardware.
AppCenter
We now properly use dark mode brand colors and dark mode screenshots thanks to Italo. Plus, when developers provide screenshots for multiple desktop environments, we now prefer the ones intended for our desktop environment, Pantheon. We support the new <Developer> Appstream tag, thanks to Juan. And we now support the contribute URL type.
AppCenter now shows dark mode screenshots when available
Italo also fixed some issues with release notes overflowing out of their container, and we slightly redesigned the release notes window in the Updates page. He also addressed a few other issues in the Updates page that could occur while things were being updated or refreshed and made sure AppCenter recovers gracefully when its cache is emptied.
Release notes dialogs have been slightly redesigned
Search is also much faster thanks to Leonhard. And for developers, Ryo fixed loading your local metadata for testing with the --load-local terminal option.
Files & Terminal
Jeremy fixed another half-dozen reported issues in Files, including an issue that prevented entering file paths in search mode, an issue that prevented scrolling after deleting files, and an issue where files would disappear when dropped on an unmounted drive. The New file submenu now respects the hierarchy of folders in Templates. We now also respect the admin:// uri protocol for opening a path as an administrator, and Files is now styled correctly when run as administrator.
He also fixed an issue where Terminal tabs took multiple clicks to focus, and an issue where keyboard shortcuts stopped working for tabs that had been dragged into their own new window. Plus, file paths and names are also now properly quoted when drag-and-dropped from Files into Terminal.
System Settings
System Settings now allows configuring its notifications in System Settings → Notications. So you can turn off bubbles if you don’t want to receive notifications about updates, for example. We’ll also no longer automatically download updates when on metered connections and send a notification instead, thanks to Leonhard. Plus we no longer check for updates in Demo Mode.
Updates now show their download size and you can see progress towards our monthly sponsorship goal
In System, Vishal made sure we show how large an update will be before downloading it and that we skip held-back packages—such as phased or staged updates—when preparing the updates bundle so that it will more reliably succeed. Alain added a progress bar while downloading. And Ryo made sure the last refresh time is more accurate when no updates are available. Alain also added a new progress bar that represents how close we are to meeting our monthly sponsorship goal.
In Applications, you can now disallow notifications access. This is especially useful for apps which use the notifications portal, but don’t properly report their notification usage and can’t be controlled in the Notifications settings page.
Reign in apps that don’t appear in Notifications settings
In Network there are two new settings: whether a network should be automatically connected to when available and whether to reduce background data usage when connected to that network.
Disable autoconnect or mark a network as metered
We also updated the pointer icons in Mouse & Touchpad settings and the checkmarks in Locale settings will now respect your chosen accent color. Plus settings pages with sidebars now remember the width you adjusted them to, thanks to Alain.
Installation & Onboarding
David fixed a crash with certain partitioning schemes in the Installer’s custom install view. And the Encryption step was redesigned to fit on a single page, solving an issue with confusing navigation. Plus, onboarding will now always stay centered on the screen, even when resized.
Panel & Quick Settings
Ilya fixed an issue with the panel height when using the Classic session and HiDPI displays. The app context menu in the Applications menu now shows a “Keep in Dock” checkbox, just like in the Dock thanks to Stella. In the Power menu, we now show the device model if available, and avoid erroneously showing an empty battery icon thanks to Alain. In the Sound menu, Dmitry fixed loading album art from certain apps like Google Chrome, and we fixed an issue where player icons could become too large.
See who else is logged in and quickly switch accounts from Quick Settings
In Quick settings, Leonhard fixed an issue with performing updates while shutting down. And Alain added a new page where you can see which other people are logged in and quickly switch between accounts.
Dock
Leo added a bit more spacing between launchers and their running indicators, and fixed an issue where larger icons could be clipped at the peak of their bounce animation. Apps who don’t notify on startup will no longer bounce in the dock indefinitely, thanks to Leonhard. We fixed an issue where the dock would still receive click events while hidden in the Classic session. Plus the dock now has an opaque style when “Panel Translucency” is turned off in System Settings → Desktop → Dock & Panel.
Window Manager
We have another huge release of our window manager thanks to Leonhard and Leo. This release fixes five potential crashes, over a dozen reported issues, fixes related to both the Classic and Secure sessions, issues related to HiDPI, and more, plus performance improvements. It’s worth reading the full release notes on GitHub if you have been waiting for the fix for a specific issue.
And More
OS 8.0.1 includes the latest long-term support Hardware Enablement stack from Ubuntu, including Linux 6.11. This brings improved performance for AMD processors, support for Intel “Lunar Lake” processors, and filesystem performance improvements in some cases. Plus support for certain webcams, USB network devices, joysticks, and more.
Leo fixed an issue where connecting Bluetooth devices could cause the Lock Screen to freeze. You can now close the captive network assistant with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Q, thanks to Stanisław. And Alain fixed copying screenshots to the clipboard.
We fixed an issue where wired network connections could fail to connect due to a change in Ubuntu. We’re pursuing this issue upstream and working on a way to ship the fix as an update, but for now fixing this issue requires either manual intervention through Terminal or a reinstall.
We also now pre-install an AppArmor profile that fixes a number of Flatpak-related issues like not being to install certain runtime updates or apps not launching in the guest session or Demo mode. Special thanks to Uncle Tallest for investigating this issue and helping folks in our Discord who ran into it.
And of course this release comes with a ton of translation updates! Special thanks to our hard-working internationalization community and especially Ryo who fixed a number of issues with things that couldn’t be localized properly in the previous release.
Get elementary OS 8.0.1
elementary OS 8.0.1 is available as a pay-what-you-can purchase at elementary.io today. Localized direct downloads and a torrent magnet link are provided.
Sponsors have been able to download OS 8.0.1 release candidates since last week, so if getting things before anyone else is important to you, consider sponsoring us on GitHub
The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS (Long-Term Support) for its Desktop, Server, and Cloud products, as well as other flavours of Ubuntu with long-term support.
As usual, this point release includes many updates and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high-severity bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
Kubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, Ubuntu Budgie 24.04.2 LTS, Ubuntu MATE 24.04.2 LTS, Lubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, Ubuntu Kylin 24.04.2 LTS, Ubuntu Studio 24.04.2 LTS, Xubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, Edubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, Ubuntu Cinnamon 24.04.2 LTS and Ubuntu Unity 24.04.2 LTS are also now available. More details can be found in their individual release notes (see ‘Official flavours’):
Maintenance updates will be provided for 5 years from the initial 24.04 LTS release for Ubuntu Desktop, Ubuntu Server, Ubuntu Cloud, and Ubuntu Core. All the remaining flavours will be supported for 3 years. Additional security support is available with ESM (Expanded Security Maintenance).
Users of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS will be offered an automatic upgrade to 24.04.2 LTS via Update Manager.
We recommend that all users read the 24.04.2 LTS release notes, which document caveats and workarounds for known issues, as well as more in-depth notes on the release itself. They are available at:
Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for desktops, laptops, clouds and servers, with a fast and easy installation and regular releases. A tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away.
Professional services including support are available from Canonical and hundreds of other companies around the world. For more information about support, visit:
Ubuntu 24.10, codenamed “Oracular Oriole”, is here. This release continues Ubuntu’s proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open-source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. The team has been hard at work through this cycle, partnering with the community and our partners, to introduce new features and fix bugs.
Ubuntu 24.10 features the latest Linux 6.11 kernel for improved performance and hardware support, marking a shift to a more aggressive kernel version selection policy going forward.
Building on our previous LTS efforts around performance engineering, Ubuntu 24.10 now includes kdump-tools on relevant platforms for automatic kernel crashdumps. The default desktop installation also includes sysprof for application and workload profiling.
Ubuntu Desktop delivers GNOME 47 with improvements to performance, user experience and enhanced touchscreen support. The power-profiles-daemon improves power management for AMD CPUs and GPUs while libfprint adds support for many new fingerprint reader devices. Ubuntu Desktop now defaults to Wayland on devices with NVIDIA graphics cards and defaults to the NVIDIA 560 open driver version.
Snap management has also been improved on desktop with better update management and messaging in both the dock and the App Center, alongside an experimental new permissions prompting feature which can be enabled in the new Security Center application.
Valkey now replaces Redis in Ubuntu 24.10 with a configuration migration package to support the transition. As always Ubuntu provides updated toolchains for GCC, LLVM, Rust, Golang and .Net alongside TCK certified packages for OpenJDK 21 and 17.
The newest Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Cinnamon, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Studio, Ubuntu Unity, and Xubuntu are also being released today. More details can be found for these at their individual release notes under the Official Flavours section:
Users of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS will be offered an automatic upgrade to 24.10 if they have selected to be notified of all releases rather than just LTS upgrades. For further information about upgrading, see:
As always, upgrades to the latest version of Ubuntu are entirely free of charge.
We recommend that all users read the release notes, which document caveats, workarounds for known issues, as well as more in-depth notes on the release itself. They are available at:
Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for desktops, laptops, IoT, cloud, and servers, with a fast and easy installation and regular releases. A tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away.
Professional services including support are available from Canonical and hundreds of other companies around the world. For more information about support, visit:
Originally posted to the ubuntu-announce mailing list on Thu Oct 10 16:03:21 UTC 2024 by Łukasz ‘sil2100’ Zemczak, on behalf of the Ubuntu Release Team.
The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the Beta release of the Ubuntu 24.10 Desktop, Server, and Cloud products.
Ubuntu 24.10, codenamed “Oracular Oriole”, continues Ubuntu’s proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. The team has been hard at work through this cycle, introducing new features and fixing bugs.
This Beta release includes images from not only the Ubuntu Desktop, Server, and Cloud products, but also the Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Cinnamon, UbuntuKylin, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Studio, Ubuntu Unity, and Xubuntu flavours.
The Beta images are known to be reasonably free of showstopper image build or installer bugs, while representing a very recent snapshot of 24.10 that should be representative of the features intended to ship with the final release expected on October 10th, 2024.
Ubuntu, Ubuntu Server, Cloud Images:
Oracular Beta includes updated versions of most of our core set of packages, including a current 6.11 kernel, and much more.
To upgrade to Ubuntu 24.10 Beta from Ubuntu 24.04, follow these instructions:
This Ubuntu Server image features the next generation Subiquity server installer, bringing the comfortable live session and speedy install of the Ubuntu Desktop to server users.
Additional images can be found at the following links:
As fixes will be included in new images between now and release, any daily cloud image from today or later (i.e. a serial of 20240919 or higher) should be considered a Beta image. Bugs found should be filed against the appropriate packages or, failing that, the cloud-images project in Launchpad.
The full release notes for Ubuntu 24.10 Beta can be found at:
Lubuntu is a flavor of Ubuntu which uses the Lightweight Qt Desktop Environment (LXQt). The project’s goal is to provide a lightweight yet functional Linux distribution based on a rock-solid Ubuntu base.
Ubuntu Studio is a flavor of Ubuntu that provides a full range of multimedia content creation applications for each key workflow: audio, graphics, video, photography and publishing.
Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for clients, servers and clouds, with a fast and easy installation and regular releases. A tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away.
Professional technical support is available from Canonical Limited and hundreds of other companies around the world. For more information about support, visit https://ubuntu.com/support
If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at:
It’s only been a little over 2 weeks since we released elementary OS 8, but we’re already back with updates just in time for the holidays!
Terminal
The headliner this month is Terminal which comes with a bunch of fixes and new features thanks to Jeremy. It now uses the more modern tab bar widget you’re used to from Web, Files, and Code. There’s an overlay bar that shows the current zoom level when it changes. We do a better job of handling URIs which contain spaces. And we now show unsafe paste warnings for Drag n Drop operations. Plus, we now show the unsafe paste warning for more commands like doas thanks to Elsie and there’s a new option in the gear menu to toggle unsafe paste alerts thanks to Stella and Charlie. Michal upped the contrast for gray in our default style and Igor made sure we focus the relevant tab when notifications are clicked. Plus, we now replace notifications from the same tab and withdraw notifications when a tab is focused, so your notification center should be a lot less noisy. This release was really a group effort with several new contributors, so major shoutouts to everyone who worked on it!
AppCenter
AppCenter will use Dark Mode screenshots when available
Thanks to Italo, AppCenter will now use provided dark mode screenshots and brand colors when developers provide them. Plus, he addressed a visual bug with release notes. And Juan added support for the latest Appstream Developer tag, so we’re staying up on standards.
Window Manager & Dock
In the Window Manager, Leo fixed an issue where the dock could sometimes still be clicked when hidden in the Classic session, while Leonhard contributed some performance improvements.
In the Dock, Leonhard made sure launcher bounces don’t run too long for apps that don’t notify on startup. Leo fixed an issue where launchers with large icons could become clipped while they bounce and made sure running indicators have a bit more room to breath. Plus the dock now also respects the “Panel Translucency” setting, making it completely solid when requested for added contrast.
System Settings
Alain added some visual polish to the System view as well as a new progress bar that represents how close we are to meeting our monthly sponsorship goal. Plus Leonhard made sure automatic updates won’t download on metered networks, and we avoid checking for system updates altogether in Demo Mode.
We now show monthly funding goal progress right in System Settings
You can now prevent Apps from sending notifications from Applications → Permissions, even for apps that don’t report their notification usage in Notification settings. and the check mark next to the current language in Language & Region settings will now follow your accent color thanks to Leo.
Installation & Onboarding
David fixed a crash with certain partitioning schemes in the Installer’s custom install view, and the encrypt view was simplified. Onboarding will now always stay centered on the screen, even when resized.
Icon Browser
A new version of the Icon Browser for app developers is available in AppCenter that includes the latest icons for Platform 8 as well as a quick button for copying code snippets thanks to Ryo. And we now focus the search automatically when you start typing, thanks to Alain.
And More
You can now close the captive network assistant with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Q, thanks to Stanisław. Alain fixed copying screenshots to the clipboard. And there a ton of translation updates, especially including traditional Chinese thanks to Kisaragi.
Sponsors
At the moment we’re at 22% of our monthly funding goal and 430 Sponsors on GitHub! Shoutouts to everyone helping us reach our goals here. Your monthly sponsorship funds development and makes sure we have the resources we need to give you the best version of elementary OS we can!
Monthly release candidate builds and daily Early Access builds are available to GitHub Sponsors from any tier! Beware that Early Access builds are not considered stable and you will encounter fresh issues when you run them. We’d really appreciate reporting any problems you encounter with the Feedback app or directly on GitHub.
Today, we’re proud to announce that elementary OS 8 is available to download now and shipping on several high-quality computers!
With OS 8, we’ve focused in on:
Creating a new Secure Session that ensures applications respect your privacy and require your consent
A brand new Dock with productive multitasking and window management features
Empowering our diverse community through Inclusive Design
To get elementary OS 8 now, head to elementary.io for the download—or read on for an overview of what’s new.
Privacy, Security & Consent
Over the past several years we’ve been building features to improve the trust relationship with your computer by requiring your explicit informed consent and disallowing untrustworthy behavior on a technical level. We’ve done that by embracing Flatpak as the way to install apps on elementary OS and Portals for confining them to a safer sandbox. Now we’re extending that story with both new settings to put you in control of the system features apps can access and a new Secure Session powered by Wayland.
In the Secure Session apps need your explicit permission for more things
On the lock screen, you’ll now see a gear menu next to the password field that gives you the option of Classic or Secure sessions. If you select the Secure Session, elementary OS will use Wayland, a modern and secure method for apps to draw themselves and accept your input. In the Secure Session, apps will be more restricted and will require your consent for access to system features. When an app wants to listen in the background for your keystrokes, take a screenshot, record the screen, or even pick up the color from a single pixel, you will be asked first to make sure that it’s okay. The Secure Session also comes with other modern features like support for Mixed DPI modes—A hotly requested feature for folks using a HiDPI notebook or tablet with a LoDPI external display—and improved support for multi-touch gestures on touch screens and tablets. You might also experience improved performance and smoothness, especially on low-powered hardware.
Portals are the standardized system interfaces that apps use to access features in a way that respects your privacy and requires your explicit consent. Four new Portals are now supported in OS 8: Color Picker, Screenshot, Screencast, and Wallpaper. These Portals are essential for enabling modern apps to work in the Secure Session when they don’t have direct access to the pixels on your display. Since some apps haven’t yet made use of the Portals required to operate under the Secure Session, OS 8 will continue to use the Classic Session by default. Apps will work and behave as they always have there, with the same level of system access you’re used to from OS 7 and before. If you rely on certain accessibility features, you may find that those are not yet available under the new Secure Session as well. However, we highly encourage you to give the Secure Session a try and you might be surprised to find that the apps and features you use are already compatible.
System Settings → Applications has expanded options
Application settings has an all-new design that expands your control over permissions. We now support adjusting the run-time permissions in Flatpak’s Permissions Store—these are set when an app explicitly asks for your permission to access a feature while it’s running. So if you’ve previously denied an app access to run in the background or granted an app permission to set the wallpaper, you can change your mind at any time and adjust permissions here. We’ve also adjusted the language of install-time permissions—aka sandbox holes—to be more clear that these represent advanced system access and the implications of adjusting them. Plus the descriptions of several individual items were changed based on your feedback to use less technical language. And app permission pages now show the app’s icon and description.
Getting Apps You Need & Staying Up to Date
In 2017 we shipped AppCenter, the Open Source pay-what-you-can app store and in 2021 we revamped that store to use Flatpak, an app distribution technology that is decentralized by design and makes cross-platform app distribution on Linux-based operating systems a breeze. Since the move to Flatpak, you’ve always had the option to easily sideload apps directly from developers or use entire alternative app stores. In OS 8 we’re expanding your access to apps even further by including the most popular app store for Linux out of the box: Flathub.
This means you’ll be able to access apps made specifically for elementary OS, apps made for Linux, and popular cross-platform apps like Discord and Spotify all directly from AppCenter without having to manually sideload or configure an alt store.
To support this change, we’ve made a few changes to App info pages in AppCenter. We’ve removed the “non-curated” badge based on your feedback and instead show a “Made for elementary OS” badge when appropriate. The links section has also been redesigned, featuring colorful iconography. We now show a Sponsor link for app developers that fund the development of their app using third-party platforms like GitHub or Patreon and we show a link directly to the app’s source code for apps that provide it.
App info pages show “Made for elementary OS” badges and more links
With the introduction of the Secure Session and new Portals to support it, expanded permissions settings, and sandbox warnings in AppCenter we feel much more confident in providing this expanded app access out of the box while upholding the expectation that the apps you get from AppCenter are reasonably safe, will ask for your consent, and respect your privacy.
In elementary OS there are two different kinds of updates. Updates to the operating system itself are installed offline, when your computer restarts, to make sure services are restarted correctly and to prevent issues. Updates to apps, on the other hand, are quickly installed while your computer is running. In OS 7, both of these types of updates appear side-by-side in AppCenter, but in OS 8 operating system updates will now appear in System Settings.
Operating system updates now appear in System Settings
Splitting apart these two update systems makes it faster to check for updates, more reliable to install them, and clearer which updates will require a restart: updates in AppCenter will never require a restart, while updates in System Settings will always require a restart.
The new system updates mechanism is super fast and includes the option to download updates automatically—which you can now opt-in to during Onboarding. It will also let you know if the updates package contains security updates and has improved error handling if things go wrong. Plus there are new options in the system shutdown dialog so you can install updates before shutting down or choose to skip a pending update, even when automatic updates are enabled.
Multitasking & Window Management
When planning for the Secure Session we realized that our Dock would need to be completely rewritten. So we took the opportunity a few years ago to run a survey and get better insights into the way you multitask on elementary OS and other operating systems. We then combined those new insights with the feedback we’ve received in GitHub over the years and carefully reconsidered the role of the Dock in our desktop alongside other desktop features which have appeared over the years. This has resulted in a Dock that retains the features you love from OS 7 and before and introduces whole new features to improve your multitasking workflow.
In particular, we’ve revisited the way we handle multi-window apps and made the behavior of clicking app icons more predictable. When an app isn’t open yet, a single-click of its icon will still launch it. When an app has a single window open, a single-click will always focus that window, even switching workspaces if necessary. And, when an app has multiple windows open, a single-click will show a window spread so you can quickly select the right window, even outside of the Multitasking View. In this way, a single-click always takes you to an app window instead of sometimes opening a new window or even hiding windows.
When an app has multiple windows, clicking shows a window spread
For apps that support multiple windows, we’ve implemented a new system that is aware of the FreeDesktop.org standard for hinting this feature, so we can now reliably open new windows when middle-clicking an app’s icon. Plus you can still scroll over an app icon to cycle through open windows. And, you can now launch pinned apps with ⌘ + 1—9, a hotly requested feature.
We’ve also added several new optional multitasking features including the ability to switch between windows with a horizontal swipe gesture, the ability to disable hotcorners when on a workspace that contains a fullscreen app, and the ability to switch between workspaces by scrolling over the panel
Designing for Inclusivity
We sat down this summer with self-described fully-blind cybersecurity enthusiast Florian Beijers to evaluate our experience for blind folks and identify areas of improvement. A particular showstopper we noticed was keyboard navigation and screen reader support during Onboarding, which has now been completely rewritten. We also took a second look at keyboard navigation and screen reader support during Installation and Initial Setup and the entire first run experience has been much improved for blind folks in OS 8. We also now have screen reader support in the Alt + Tab window switcher and we’ve made sure that there’s audio—or visual depending on your settings—feedback when we’re unable to complete window management tasks like cycling workspaces in response to the keyboard shortcut.
Navigation has been rewritten in Onboarding
System Settings has been refreshed with a modern space-saving dual-pane design that is more responsive for small and large displays. We’ve also vastly improved support for text scaling, screen readers, keyboard navigation, right-to-left language layouts, and improved contrast in illustrations. Plus search now returns more relevant results and the titles of those results now reflect both the exact setting name they’re matching and the path to that setting.
Many System Settings pages feature modern redesigns
Instead of removing features during this redesign, we’ve added new ones. For example, if you’re not a fan of overlaid scrollbars or have a motor disability that makes them difficult to use, there’s a new setting to always show scrollbars in Desktop → Appearance. Language & Region settings has a new option to automatically select the temperature unit based on locale. And there are new keyboard shortcut options for switching between keyboard layouts or using features like emoji or unicode typing.
Settings that use dropdowns are now frequently searchable. We’ve also improved setting descriptions, added new ones based on your feedback, and made sure help text is less frequently hidden behind a mouse hover. Plus, System got a redesign of external links similar to the one in AppCenter, with clearer help and documentation links as well as a better call for contributions.
Quick Settings improves access to features while reducing clutter
OS 8 also brings a new Quick Settings menu that improves access to features while reducing clutter in the panel. We’ve started by combining the accessibility and session menus which contain useful controls, but don’t indicate a change in status. We’ve also added hotly requested controls like Dark Mode and Rotation Lock. Features like the Screen Reader and Onscreen Keyboard are now available from the Quick Settings menu by default, but you can still choose to hide them in System Settings → Desktop → Dock & Panel.
By popular demand, we’re making a major change to our default keyboard shortcuts: pressing ⌘ will now open the Applications menu instead of the Shortcuts overlay and ⌘ + Space will now switch keyboard layouts by default. This brings us more in line with the defaults from other desktops and operating systems and will hopefully be more comfortable for folks who rely on these shortcuts to get around. Of course you can always change the ⌘ key behavior and keyboard shortcuts in general in System Settings → Keyboard.
Visual design plays a huge role in the appeal of our operating system and elementary has always had a strong identity in using colorful and playful design to convey a sense of friendliness and fun. In OS 8 we’ve maintained our careful balance of learning and evolving while avoiding chasing design trends to retain our unique personality.
Pointers are more consistent and make better use of color
A perfect example of this is our new pointers. Pointers were completely redrawn to be more consistent, make better use of color, and be more precise. The new design is more fun and playful with softer edges and rounder corners while maintaining high contrast and legibility. The new design feels extremely familiar but also more modern.
Multitasking View now features a blurred version of your wallpaper
Instead of a plain dark gray background, Multitasking View now features a blurred version of your wallpaper that is adjusted for light and dark modes. Workspace cards now have rounded corners and the switcher at the bottom of the screen has been updated for light and dark modes as well.
The Login & Lock Screen also features a blurred background similar to the Multitasking View as well as a larger and bolder clock
Several applications have a noticeably more modern design as well. Notably, Videos has a completely redesigned player page and now follows the system light and dark style preference. The new Fonts looks fantastic and has much better performance. And Web 46 brings its own set of performance improvements along with a more minimal appearance.
Several apps have a noticeably more modern design
Hardware Support
OS 8 includes the latest long-term support Hardware Enablement stack from Ubuntu, including Linux 6.8. We’re also shipping with Pipewire which improves latency and bluetooth audio quality while being architected for the world of sandboxed Flatpak apps running in the Secure Session. This is an especially big deal for folks doing audio production tasks on elementary OS.
Drivers moved to System Settings → System
Driver management has moved from AppCenter to System Settings → System. The new design for drivers is more in line with how drivers are managed on other operating systems and is easier to work with, especially for hardware that has multiple driver options like NVIDIA® graphics.
Power Settings now shows battery charging levels
Power settings now shows the charging level and status for both internal batteries and connected battery devices like mice and keyboards. You can also choose to automatically set different power profiles based on whether your device is plugged in or on battery power, and power modes can be quickly changed from the power menu in the panel. Plus the battery icon in the panel will now show much more accurate battery levels for mobile computers.
Power modes can be changed from the power menu
Get elementary OS 8
elementary OS 8 is available as a pay-what-you-can purchase at elementary.io today. Localized direct downloads and a torrent magnet link are provided.
OS 8 will receive additional feature and bug fix updates on a monthly schedule that will be reported on here on our blog, so stay tuned for even more updates in the future!
Get A New Computer
Our hardware retailers Laptop with Linux, Star Labs, and Slimbook are offering elementary OS 8 out of the box starting today! Visit retailers’ individual sites for more information.
I want to give special thanks to all of our volunteer contributors for working hard over the last 13 months to make this an incredible release. We set some really ambitious goals and have made major architectural changes to accomplish them that required a lot of planning and coordination. Some of the features landed in this cycle have been years in the making. Our monthly blog posts highlight more of our individual contributors and it’s worth reading through them to admire their passion and dedication.
I’m also eternally grateful to our individual Early Access sponsors for providing consistent funding to keep producing our operating system and distributing it under our pay-what-you-can model. We’re funded almost entirely by the good will of individuals without any VC funding or major corporate backing. The only partnerships we have is with our indie hardware vendors. Choosing to support an operating system made by a community like ours is an act of protest in the world we currently find ourselves in and your solidarity means everything.
This month’s update is fairly brief since a lot of what we did last month was minor bug fixes, regression testing, updating metadata, taking screenshots, and releasing packages. We’re getting down to the last few items before we can release elementary OS 8. Read ahead to find out more!
OS 7 Updates
Just a couple of small OS 7 updates this month! Ryan backported a fix for an issue in AppCenter where the updates page would continue to show the loading screen after it was finished loading. And the latest Network Indicator was released and now shows cellular modems as toggle buttons like it does with other devices.
Cellular modems now show as toggle buttons
OS 8 Updates
Continuing on with our work to vastly improve screen reader support this cycle, Leo implemented the accessibility interface in the Alt + Tab window switcher! Leonhard added a new option to the system shutdown dialog so you can choose to skip a pending update, even when automatic updates are enabled.
You can choose to skip updates when shutting down or restarting
If you have a mixed-dpi setup—like a HiDPI laptop or tablet and a LoDPI external monitor—You can now set per-display scaling in the Secure Session thanks to Leonhard. And power modes can also now be quickly changed from the power indicator thanks to Subhadeep.
Power modes now appear in the power indicator
Release Planning
Last month we finished releasing nearly every component that makes up elementary OS—over 80 packages. The only thing left is the Login & Lock Screen which is blocked by two small issues. We also have just two more OS patches to complete. Once these issues are resolved and the Login & Lock Screen has a package release, we can build release-candidate images of elementary OS 8 from the stable updates channel—and these builds will be available to Sponsors in Early Access right away. There’s still a couple more issues we want to try to solve before the final public OS 8 release, but we’re very close! As always you can follow along with our progress towards the release of OS 8 in this GitHub project. When this project board is empty, it’s public release time!
Sponsors
At the moment we’re at 20% of our monthly funding goal and 385 Sponsors on GitHub! Shoutouts to everyone helping us reach our goals here. Your monthly sponsorship funds development and makes sure we have the resources we need to give you the best version of elementary OS we can!
Monthly release candidate builds and daily Early Access builds are available to GitHub Sponsors from any tier! Beware that Early Access builds are not considered stable and you will encounter fresh issues when you run them. We’d really appreciate reporting any problems you encounter with the Feedback app or directly on GitHub.
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