Here's Everything New in Ubuntu 25.04 'Plucky Puffin'

Ubuntu 25.04, nicknamed "Plucky Puffin" is arriving this month. The merchandise takes large steps guardant to assistance hole for the adjacent semipermanent enactment (LTS) merchandise adjacent year.

Introducing Ubuntu 25.04: Plucky Puffin

Ubuntu 25.04 lands close successful the mediate of the distribution’s LTS merchandise cycle, meaning it isn’t bound by the request to fastener successful changes for stability’s sake. That said, Ubuntu isn’t precisely known for rolling release-style breaking changes successful the archetypal place, but it does mean you tin expect to spot much present than successful immoderate past updates.

That said, immoderate of the astir important changes whitethorn beryllium coming successful aboriginal releases. A caller thread connected the Ubuntu Discourse forum had respective contributors discussing moving distant from GNU coreutils successful favour of the newer uutils suite. This is written successful Rust, which has been a arguable taxable successful the Linux assemblage lately.

Regardless, the aboriginal of Ubuntu isn’t what we’re present to discuss, but alternatively what’s here. Ubuntu 25.04 inactive looks and feels similar classical Ubuntu, oregon astatine slightest however it’s looked since it embraced the colour purple. This has its pros and cons, which apt alteration depending connected your emblematic Linux organisation of choice.

For example, arsenic we’ll see, immoderate improvements and changes to GNOME either aren’t yet disposable successful Ubuntu, oregon are somewhat antithetic than they would beryllium connected a much “vanilla” distro.

It’s worthy mentioning that my impressions are based connected moving the latest disposable mentation of the 25.04 Beta astatine the clip of writing, truthful the last merchandise whitethorn yet disagree slightly.

Linux Kernel 6.14 and systemd Updates

Ubuntu 25.04 ships volition the Linux 6.14 kernel, which is inactive receiving insignificant updates successful the beta starring up to release. That said, careless of insignificant mentation fig successful the authoritative released Ubuntu version, this kernel mentation brings immoderate sizable improvements.

One of the much absorbing updates is simply a caller primitive operator known arsenic ntsync. This isn’t a filesystem driver, but alternatively works with Windows compatibility layers similar WINE tin spot awesome show improvements, with framework complaint increases of 50 to 150 percent.

In different gaming improvement, the xpad operator present supports third-party Xbox 360 controllers that were antecedently unsupported. You tin present remap the Copilot key, meaning it is nary longer wholly useless erstwhile moving Linux.

In presumption of AI you tin really usage connected Linux, a caller operator added to the kernel whitethorn beryllium of interest. This enables enactment for AMD’s XDNA Neural Processing Unit (NPU), meaning users tin present instrumentality vantage of this hardware connected Linux.

Finally, systemd has seen aggregate updates, including a caller enactment to hold for DNS servers to beryllium configured and reachable. In presumption of gathering software, the toolchain has been updated with highlights including gcc 14.2, binutils 2.44, and glibc 2.41. LLVM present defaults to mentation 20, portion Rust defaults to mentation 1.84.

GNOME 48

Also caller successful Ubuntu 25.04 is GNOME 48, which was released successful March. While this mentation of the desktop situation promises plentifulness of updates, not each of them were determination astatine the archetypal release, and this is existent for Ubuntu arsenic well.

One diagnostic that has made it into the latest mentation of Ubuntu is the caller Wellbeing tab successful the Settings app. This is akin to the Screen Time tools you’ll find successful macOS oregon different Apple devices, and is aimed astatine helping you support way of however overmuch clip you’re spending successful beforehand of your machine screen.

The app doesn’t conscionable amusement you however overmuch clip you’re logging successful beforehand of the screen, but besides tools to assistance assistance you with it. This could mean mounting a clip bounds you privation to usage the machine for, oregon it could mean turning connected grayscale mode to marque things a small little flashy and eye-catching.

On the different extremity of the spectrum, if you’re utilizing an HDR-compatible display, you’ll present find HDR settings disposable successful the Display Settings. One contented present is that this simply seems unavailable if HDR isn’t supported, truthful if you’re having an contented getting things configured, the authoritative Settings app doesn’t look similar it volition beryllium overmuch assistance successful this case.

Enhanced Nvidia GPU Performance

Unless you’re buying a brand-new and truthful mostly unsupported video card, it’s mostly expected that you’ll get amended show arsenic drivers improve. That’s the lawsuit present successful general, but specifically successful this case, Nvidia users tin expect an improved gaming experience with Ubuntu 25.04.

The Nvidia operator packaged by Ubuntu volition present alteration a caller diagnostic by default, known arsenic Dynamic Boost. This efficaciously balances powerfulness betwixt the GPU and CPU, with the quality to way much powerfulness to 1 oregon the other, depending connected wherever it’s needed astir astatine a fixed time.

This diagnostic has been built into the Nvidia operator for immoderate time, but the mode it was packaged didn’t let the indispensable nvidia-powerd daemon to run. Apparently, the Ubuntu squad deemed this important capable that it granted a diagnostic frost successful bid to adhd the diagnostic to the upcoming release.

What does this mean for gamers? If you person a gaming PC you built yourself, not much. That said, if you person a caller laptop with an Nvidia GPU, you tin expect to spot improved framework rates successful games, successful immoderate cases anyway. Games that trust much connected the GPU and little connected the CPU volition spot the biggest boosts.

Easier Installation and Dual-Booting With Windows

Ubuntu has a estimation for being casual to install, and it’s well-deserved. If anything, the process has lone gotten easier implicit the years. That said, the squad has been hard astatine enactment sanding disconnected the unsmooth edges wherever they remain, and that’s wide with the 25.04 release.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to trial astir of the caller improvements to the installer first-hand, arsenic I didn’t person entree to a machine moving Windows to dual-boot with. Many of the caller updates to the installer absorption connected installing Ubuntu alongside BitLocker-encrypted Windows, which volition beryllium a boon for plentifulness of users retired there.

If you’re readying connected dual-booting, you don’t request to interest astir leaving the Linux broadside unencrypted, either. The installer present makes it easier to encrypt a Linux installation that you’re dual-booting alongside Windows.

Even if you’re installing Ubuntu connected a afloat disk, the enactment to encrypt is easy disposable and available. If your laptop travels with you, this is simply a spot of other extortion you truly should see during installation.

Updated Software

Of course, past there’s the bundle you really use, starting with a large one: version 3.0 of the GNU Image Manipulation Project. This update to the venerable open-source Photoshop alternate has agelong been successful the works, and it’s yet here. It’s the aforesaid representation editing programme you cognize and (perhaps) love, but present with a ton of refinements.

LibreOffice has been updated to mentation 25.2, portion Thunderbird is mentation 128 “Supernova.” Firefox is presently sitting astatine mentation 137, and this looks similar the apt mentation that volition vessel with the distro.

The Ubuntu Discourse leafage astir the 25.04 beta makes peculiar notation of the food shell, which has been rewritten successful Rust. This ammunition is progressively popular, and portion this is conscionable a hunch, I wouldn’t beryllium wholly amazed to spot food popular up arsenic the default ammunition successful a aboriginal Ubuntu release.

To instal immoderate apps that aren’t portion of the Ubuntu 25.04 default install, instrumentality a look astatine our guide to installing bundle connected Ubuntu with Snap oregon apt.