Linux distribution
Ubuntu 25.04
Huffing and puffing, Nate Drake takes a look at the interim 25.04 release and wonders how things could get much better.
IN BRIEF
The team at Canonical only goes from strength to strength with Ubuntu. Setup now includes more flexible installation options. There are also improved wellness features and better support for Windows emulation.
The name Ubuntu is derived from a Bantu word that roughly translates as ‘humanity towards others’. Since October 2004, this community spirit has been reflected by regular releases of this Debian-based OS.
Over the years, Ubuntu has undergone many iterations. Initially, its flagship edition deployed the Gnome 2 desktop environment. This all changed with the advent of Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal in 2011, which heralded Canonical’s own Unity desktop environment, which provided a more modern and touch-friendly interface.
SPECS
CPU: 2GHz
Mem: 4GB
HDD: 25GB
Builds: ARMhf, PPC64el, RISC-V, s390x, x86_64
In 2017, Canonical abandoned Unity in favour of Gnome. Ubuntu’s release cycle now roughly follows that of new versions of the desktop environment, with new versions being released approximately every six months.
At the time of writing, Ubuntu 25.04 (scheduled for 17th April) has yet to be released, so our review focuses on the beta. This means that the listed features or screenshots may differ from the final release. As always, do your own research before installing.