Red Hat has announced the beta version of Fedora 36, allowing users of the cutting-edge distro to test drive the new version before the regular release.

Getting the Fedora 36 Beta in the Hands of Users

Fedora Download Page

Red Hat Blogs editorial director Joe Brockmeier announced the release of the beta on the company's official blog, saying:

This release continues the Fedora Project's emphasis on delivering leading-edge open source technologies and includes updates to GNOME, Wayland improvements for NVIDIA users, and more.

Fedora is a sister project to the company's Red Hat Enterprise Linux that functions as a testbed for later versions of RHEL. It's aimed at developers and Linux hobbyists, in contrast to RHEL's focus on the enterprise.

Due to Fedora's focus on newer software, the project moves quickly. The last release, Fedora 35, was released in November 2021. Fedora aims for a roughly six-month release schedule. This means that users should expect the full release around April 2022 if all goes well.

The open nature of Linux development and the fast release schedule of major components like the Linux kernel means that the Linux community tends to value access to newer software. As evidenced by the growth of rolling-release distros like Arch Linux (what is Arch Linux?).

Curious users eager to try the beta can download the desktop version, dubbed Fedora Workstation, directly from the Fedora website.

Fedora provides a tool for Windows and Mac users called Fedora Media Writer to create bootable media on a USB stick, but users can also download the ISO image themselves and create their own media. The Fedora 36 images for x86 and ARM are clearly marked with the "Beta!" icon.

A New UI and Under-the-Hood Improvements

The beta release includes improved support for NVIDIA users. Consequently, Wayland desktop sessions are enabled by default. Wayland is a newer graphics display system for Linux that aims to replace the X Window System that has been in use on Unix-like systems since the 1980s. It also includes the Gnome 42 desktop, which includes new apps and an overhauled dark mode.

Under the hood, the RPM package directory for installing new software has been moved from the /var directory to /usr in an attempt to make snapshots and rollbacks of the system easier.

An Early Release of a Fast-Paced Distro

The Fedora distribution of Linux releases software quickly and hopes it will benefit from user feedback before the stable release. This distinguishes it from other major distros like Ubuntu that focus on more stable, "long-term support" releases. With Fedora's version 36 beta, it seems that this tradition will continue.