Ubuntu Core Desktop Debut No Longer Planned for April

Ubuntu Core Desktop will not be released alongside Ubuntu 24.04 LTS in April, as originally hoped.

For those of you think thinking “wait, what?!” — last year Canonical announced it was developing an all-snap, immutable version of Ubuntu for home users called Ubuntu Core Desktop (the existing Ubuntu Core release is for IoT/embedded use).

Further, engineers working at the company said the aim was to make the first version of Ubuntu Core Desktop available to download in April, released alongside Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

To be clear: Ubuntu Core Desktop wasn’t going to be a default, recommended download at first (lest anyone panic), but a formal public preview release that interested users could choose to use.

Alas, those plans have slipped:

[Ubuntu Core Desktop] won’t be released by 24.04, and unfortunately, I can’t provide a date until we’ve worked through issues that need resolution – we want the user experience to be excellent and that’s going to take time.

Tim Holmes-Mittra, Canonical

No other details are given on what exact “issues” need resolving but given the use of issues (plural) it’s a myriad of bugs/difficulties at play and not just a single, specific thing they can focus on ironing out.

— which I think most reasonable folks would expected.

Building an immutable, snap-based Ubuntu desktop was never going to a trivial task. Delays, bumps, snafus were all-but guaranteed to emerge — in fact, it would’ve been weirder if they hadn’t.

Ubuntu Core Desktop is composed of snap apps for desktop apps, system apps, tech stacks (like printing and network), the desktop environment, the core system including Linux kernel and graphics drivers, and the boot loader — a lot of interconnected pieces.

The news may disappoint those who saw the enthusiastic presentation on Ubuntu Core Desktop from Canonical’s Till Kamppeter at FOSDEM 2024, back the start of February — who even had a build running for people to see in action.

Not that you needed to have been there to try it yourself.

I’ve kicked the tires on dev builds of Ubuntu Core Desktop a few times — I wrote a guide on where to find the images last June, if you’re interested — and progress is brisk.

And the overall experience as it comes is surprisingly usable already – not perfect, but trending in the right direction.

Which makes word of this “delay” — though, again, April was never a guarantee only an aim — both surprising and disappointing. The sooner this build is out there in a formal manner, the sooner we can all try it, test it, and help improve it.

Still, I figured I’d pass on word of this (temporary) postponement on.

But could the timing actually work out for the best? Ubuntu reaches a major milestone in October. Announcing the first release of the “next-gen” Ubuntu desktop on that date… Would be rather fitting!

Thanks Kamen