If you’ve been pining to sample the Plucky Puffin, now’s the time: the Ubuntu 25.04 beta downloads are out!
Ubuntu 25.04 beta lands ahead of the planned stable release on Thursday April 17, 2025.
As a beta, the purpose is to let folks like you and I muck in to test it out, check it works with hardware, and report any bugs, breakages, or big issues so they can be looked into, worked on and fixed up in time for the release premiere next month.
Ubuntu 25.04 is a short-term release supported for 9 months — Ubuntu LTS releases are supported for a minimum of 5 years — but Ubuntu 25.10 is released in October, with direct upgrades available.
I cover the best new features in Ubuntu 25.04 in a separate article (so check that out for more detail on what’s new in the ‘Plucky Puffin’ – spoiler: there’s a lot) but a top level overview:
- Linux kernel 6.14 – latest kernel release
- Enhanced OS installer – better dual-boot handling
- GNOME 48 – HDR support, wellbeing tool + more
- Theme refinements – icon size fix, new symbolics + more
- New document viewer app – Papers replaces Evince
- BeaconDB geolocation – powering Night Light & timezones
- NVIDIA Dynamic Boost support – compatible laptops only
However, text can only tell you so much since many of the improvements are under the hood. The best way to discover the Plucky Puffin is to grab an ISO, boot it up, and it explore the changes first hand.
Just let me know what you think of it by popping back to leave a comment, okay?
Download Ubuntu 25.04 Beta
Keen to get your paws on Plucky Puffin?
Beta software is not finished, not polished and not intended for critical use (i.e., don’t install it on your work laptop if you’re got deadline to hit). Anyone of a bug-fearing nature should be patient and wait for the final, stable release of Ubuntu 25.04, out next month.
You can download Ubuntu 25.04 beta from the Ubuntu release server right now — if you’re on a slow, mobile or limited data connection be aware that the regular Ubuntu desktop ISO is now 6GB+ in size – which is the largest, ever!
Flash the ISO to a USB stick or boot it up in a VM to try the live session (and check hardware works) and, if you choose, install it (helpfully, this release sees improvements to the Ubuntu installer for creating dual-boot setups with Windows and other OSes).
If you do install the Ubuntu 25.04 beta you can upgrade to the final, stable release simply by installing all software updates released between now and April 17th. By then, you’ll have the exact same packages, fixes, and patches as anyone doing a clean install.
Like Ubuntu with a different flavour?
Beta builds of the many Ubuntu flavours are also available for testing as of today, including Xubuntu 25.04 with Xfce 4.20, Ubuntu Cinnamon 25.04 with Cinnamon 6.4, and Ubuntu Studio 25.04 with KDE Plasma 6.3.