The next Long-Term Support (LTS) release of the mainstream Linux distribution, Ubuntu, is drawing close.
A development freeze of the forthcoming 26.04 release, codenamed “Resolute Raccoon”, is due on February 19th, which marks a milestone in the latest release schedule.
The Long-Term Support (LTS) versions of Ubuntu are released on a two-year cycle with five years of support included, and the current version 24.04 remains supported until 2029, with point releases updated every few months. The current official release is 24.04.03 at the time of writing this.
According to the release schedule, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is due for official release on April 23rd 2026, with the first point update due in August.
| February 19th | Development freeze |
| March 12th | User interface freeze |
| March 26th | Beta release |
| April 16th | Final freeze |
| April 23rd | Official release |
| August 6th | First point release |
If, like me, you are itching to give the next release a try, beta versions of the next release and official spins will be available the week commencing, March 26th.
In the meantime, you can download and install a Daily Build now, but are advised not to use as a daily driver, or install on a production device. With Daily Build releases they are prone to many bugs and can freeze desktop sessions, so if you are testing then it is advised to install on a spare laptop or redundant desktop PC.
The next release will feature version 6.20 of the Linux kernel and introduce a Wayland only desktop, featuring GNOME 50.
DigitalRobin.net 
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