What’s new in 21.04?
It may not be packed full of eye-catching new features, but Ubuntu 21.04 features plenty of improvements.
Although GNOME itself hasn’t been updated to version 40, many underlying GNOME tools have.
One minor tweak is that all menu bar items, including the Calendar, now switch to the Dark Theme by default.
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WAYLAND MAY BE DOMINATING the headlines, but it’s by no means the only new feature that’s arrived in Ubuntu 21.04. Several other features are linked to Wayland, of course—the PipeWire project for one, with its aim of “greatly improving handling of audio and video under Linux”. It’s basically a replacement for pulseaudio and JACK, designed to work with containerized Flatpak applications, but also tying in neatly with Wayland’s tighter security requirements.
In practical terms, its primary function is to restore the ability to both screen-share and record your desktop with compatible applications such as OBS Studio and Discord. It will also improve audio support in sandboxed applications, such as those installed through Flatpak.
One interesting choice made in Ubuntu 21.04 is the one to stick with GNOME 3.38 (or more precisely, 3.38.5). This means that the desktop remains a familiar one, despite the recent release of GNOME 40. As a result, no radical desktop changes, such as the controversial switch to dynamic horizontal workspaces, have been implemented this time, although selected GNOME applications, including System Monitor, have been updated to their GNOME 40 versions behind the scenes.