What's new in Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 'Resolute Raccoon', now in beta

Canonical has released the beta version of Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, nicknamed "Resolute Raccoon." The full release is scheduled for April 23, 2026, and I'm taking a look at what's in the desktop edition.

What's new

• Support for Arm computers: Added in 25.10 but new for LTS releases, there's now an image just for running Ubuntu desktop on ARM64 devices. This includes Windows-on-Arm computers packed with Snapdragon CPUs.
• Simple telemetry management settings: There's a new graphical interface in the Settings app labeled "Telemetry" that lets you control the data Canonical collects about you and your machine.
  • Also expect a prompt requesting consent for this data collection under the name "Ubuntu Insights."
• Replaced utilities: The default terminal emulator, image viewer, and document viewer from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS have all been replaced. Their substitutes, Ptyxis, Loupe, and Papers generally use newer libraries and programming languages.

What's getting better

• GNOME 50: The desktop environment has been updated from GNOME 46 in Noble Numbat, bringing with it tons of visual improvements. Version 50 in particular brings:
  • New parental controls
  • Faster file browsing
  • Enhanced VRR and fractional scaling support
• sudo-rs over-the-shoulder security: The superuser command in its Rust form has been enhanced with the ability to obscure how many characters have been typed when you enter your password, otherwise called "password feedback."
• Installing apps: If you're switching from Noble Numbat, you'll see a big improvement in the App Center. You can now install third party DEBs with it, directly uninstall Snap packages, and scroll using a touch screen.

What's going away

• X.org sessions: Wayland is now the only available backend. There's still support for X applications via the compatibility layer Wayland supplies, but you can say goodbye to native X11 on Ubuntu desktop.

Zooming out

Why it matters: Ubuntu is one of the most influential and well-utilized Linux distros out there, if not the most. Its numerous flavors and off-shoots, which are themselves very popular, will react to and build on top of the new release. Since it's an LTS release, the reverberations will go on for years.

My take: It's been a long time since I mained Ubuntu proper, so I won't mess with this Resolute Raccoon outside of some virtual machines.

• I'm stoked instead for one of the primary flavors: Kubuntu 26.04 LTS. I have the Ubuntu base of Kubuntu 24.04 LTS to thank for the past couple of years of quality computing on my laptop.

Diving in

The fineprint: There's a lot more I couldn't cover here, including the server edition. Check out the Ubuntu 26.04 LTS release notes to see everything.

Get it now: It isn't meant for critical work, but you can visit the Ubuntu 26.04 LTS beta download page to download an ISO.