Canonical has announced the release of Ubuntu 22.10, codenamed "Kinetic Kudu." The new release comes with some desktop and performance tweaks, as well as a focus on Internet of Things development.
New Capabilities in Ubuntu 22.10
Canonical announced the release of Ubuntu 22.10 in a blog post.
"This release also brings new capabilities to our enterprise management story," Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth said.
The most visible changes for desktop users are to the default GNOME desktop. Ubuntu 22.10 uses Gnome 43, which was released in September 2022. The latest release features a revamped Quick Settings menu that makes it easy to adjust settings like dark mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and power settings. It also uses the GTK4 toolkit for a spruced-up look and feel.
Canonical promised that Ubuntu 22.10 would be available from its download page later in the day on October 20, 2022.
Ubuntu 22.10 Under-the-hood Improvements
Aside from the new desktop tweaks, there are a number of enhancements under the hood to improve performance. The system ships with a Linux 5.19 kernel. Power management on Intel chips has been improved.
The new release also comes with changes that will appeal to enterprise customers, especially those working with Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
The SSH server will now only activate when it receives an incoming connection for remote management. This means that Ubuntu will use less memory in embedded deployments.
The Landscape management tool also now supports multiple architectures, including ARM. The new release adds support for RISC-V processors. Non-intel processors are widely used in embedded and IoT devices.
What Happens to Ubuntu 22.10 Now?
Ubuntu 22.10 is an interim release that will receive support for nine months, until July 2023, while the next scheduled release, 23.04, arrives in the spring of 2022.
Canonical is playing up the appeal of Ubuntu 22.10 to enterprise customers, but many enterprise clients will likely prefer the Long-term Support (LTS) releases of Ubuntu, the latest of which, Ubuntu 22.04 "Jammy Jellyfish", was released earlier in 2022. These kinds of releases are offered to those who want more up-to-date software. It's a middle ground between the stable LTS release and more bleeding-edge distributions like Arch.
Ubuntu 22.10 Poised to Remain Dev Favorite
Ubuntu 22.10's enhancements will mean it will likely remain popular with developers, especially those working with IoT devices. Ubuntu has won a place in the hearts of developers of all stripes because of its large community and commitment to hardware support.