Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Resolute Raccoon: Available to install via WebFAI soon - TUXEDO Computers

With Ubuntu 26.04 LTS „Resolute Racoon“, the next long-term supported version of Ubuntu was released on April 23, 2026. As an LTS release, Ubuntu 26.04 will receive support from Canonical until 2031. With Ubuntu Pro, private users can even extend support to a total of ten years on up to five machines at no cost. After the standard five years, systems can be transitioned into the Extended Security Maintenance (ESM) program, provided Ubuntu Pro is enabled. This includes security updates not only for core components („main“) but also for thousands of packages from the „universe“ repository.

Canonical has raised the recommended minimum RAM for Ubuntu 26.04 from 4 to 6 GB. However, this is not a strict requirement, and installation with 4 GB RAM remains possible.

What’s inside?

In addition to GNOME as the desktop environment and Linux 7.0 as the kernel, Ubuntu 26.04 offers improved hardware support, including for Intel Nova Lake and AMD Zen 6. It also introduces a new App Center for all package formats, an enhanced terminal called Ptyxis, security updates through post-quantum cryptography, TPM-backed encryption, and optimized system tools—some of which are written in Rust.

Rusty Tools

These include the Rust-based sudo implementation sudo-rs as well as uutils/coreutils, which aims to largely replace the GNU Coreutils providing essential commands such as ls, cp, mv, cat, and rm. In addition, ntp-rs is positioned as a modern NTP implementation for time synchronization, while Chrony remains the established standard.

Other new applications include Papers, which will replace Evince as the default PDF viewer, and Loupe, replacing Eye of GNOME as the image viewer. Finally, Resources replaces the GNOME System Monitor.

With systemd 259, legacy components continue to be phased out, and cgroup v2 becomes mandatory. This means that containers still relying on cgroup v1 may block an upgrade to Ubuntu 26.04 until the container runtime environment has been updated accordingly.

APT upgraded

Users of APT on the command line benefit from both visual improvements and new features. Output is now more clearly structured, making better use of colors, columns, and spacing. Packages scheduled for removal are highlighted at the end of the output.

New commands include apt why and apt why-not, which help explain why a package is or isn’t installed. Also new are apt history list and apt history info. While apt history list provides an overview of all recorded transactions, apt history info shows detailed information about individual operations. Additional features such as history undo and history rollback are planned.

What does GNOME 50 offer?

As usual, Ubuntu 26.04 ships with a customized version of GNOME as its desktop environment—this time version 50. GNOME 50 continues the transition to Wayland and significantly reduces reliance on X11. Applications that are not yet native to Wayland are still supported via XWayland.

With the removal of numerous X11-related components in core modules such as Mutter, GNOME Shell, GNOME Control Center, and the GNOME session, the codebase has been noticeably streamlined.

Stabilized Variable Refresh Rate

GNOME 50 also introduces performance improvements such as stabilized Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and fractional scaling, which are no longer considered experimental in Mutter. It also supports hardware-accelerated remote desktop sessions, where video encoding is offloaded to the GPU via Vulkan and VA-API. Additional improvements include a redesigned app grid, optimized Wayland integration, HiDPI screencasts with monitor emulation, improved multi-monitor support, and expanded accessibility features.

Enhanced accessibility and well-being

The Orca screen reader has been significantly improved in several areas. One new feature is automatic language switching for web content and application user interfaces. Braille support has also been enhanced.

In terms of digital well-being, parental controls have been expanded. For child accounts, daily screen time limits and bedtimes can now be defined, with the screen locking automatically when limits are reached. Usage can be temporarily extended if needed.

Document Viewer enhancements

The annotation feature in GNOME’s document viewer has been reworked. Annotations can now be added directly within the main view using the mouse. In addition to text comments, users can insert lines and highlights. The interface provides options for colors, line thickness, and an eraser tool.

Nautilus

The GNOME Files app (formerly Nautilus) has received extensive improvements in version 50. The focus is on performance, reliability, and a more refined user interface. This includes faster loading of thumbnails and icons as well as reduced memory usage.

The bulk rename feature has been reworked and now provides visual highlighting for replaced text. A new dialog for managing captions has also been introduced in grid view.

Ubuntu at TUXEDO

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is already undergoing our internal quality assurance process. We are currently preparing its integration into the WebFAI. In this step, we validate the final release of the distribution against our standards. Once testing is complete, the system will be integrated into our WebFAI without much delay.