Ubuntu 25.04 “Plucky Puffin” is now available. This interim release brings a range of exciting new features, mainly for desktop users and developers. It will be supported until January 2026.
A more modern interface with GNOME 48
Ubuntu 25.04 includes the GNOME 48 desktop environment, which significantly improves the user experience:
- Better grouped and clearer notifications
- Support for HDR (High Dynamic Range)
- Digital well-being options to limit screen time
- Triple buffering enabled for smoother animations
The default document viewer switches from Evince to Papers, which leverages GTK 4 for a sleeker and more responsive interface.
A faster and more stable Linux 6.8 kernel
This release is based on the Linux 6.8 kernel, with many optimizations:
- Better process management with sched_ext
- Compatibility improvements with Wine and Proton through NTSYNC support
- Updated features for containers and virtualized environments
Networking, security, and hardware support improvements
Ubuntu 25.04 ships with NetworkManager 1.44, introducing several new features:
- Support for DNS over TLS for better privacy
- Prioritization of IPv6 connections
This release also strengthens hardware support, especially for ARM64 architectures such as the Raspberry Pi.
System improvements and new formats
Several system tools are updated:
- The APT package manager moves to version 3.0
- JPEG XL enabled by default for higher-quality images
- Mozilla’s location service replaced by BeaconDB
Which version should you choose?
Ubuntu 25.04 is a non-LTS (short-term support) release. It will receive security updates until January 2026.
Users seeking long-term stability should instead choose Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, supported until 2029.