Ubuntu 26.10, codenamed "Stonking Stingray", is now available. Building on the foundations of Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, this release continues to advance security, performance, and hardware support while introducing new capabilities that look toward the future of Ubuntu. The improvements are the result of close collaboration between the Ubuntu team, the community, and partners.
On security, Ubuntu 26.10 brings the full adoption of Rust-based coreutils, post-quantum-ready package signing, and expanded TPM-backed full-disk encryption support. Enterprise authentication gains deeper integration with Microsoft Entra ID, including password and multi-factor authentication. Linux kernel 7.3 extends support for the latest hardware, alongside new RISC-V desktop images and optimized amd64v3 installation images.
On the desktop, GNOME 51 brings improvements to responsiveness, accessibility, and usability, along with more consistent software management and greater resilience under memory pressure. Ubuntu 26.10 also introduces Myna, an opt-in, locally processed speech-to-text solution that marks the first step toward a more natural, context-aware desktop experience. Updated developer toolchains and expanded support for accelerated AI workloads round out the release.
The Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Cinnamon, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Studio, Ubuntu Unity, and Xubuntu flavors are released today as well, with maintenance updates provided for 9 months. Users of Ubuntu 26.04 who opted to be notified of all releases will be offered an automatic upgrade. Upgrades are free of charge, and users are encouraged to read the release notes for known issues and workarounds.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing