Existing users of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS should look out for an updated hardware enablement (HWE) this month, which lands ahead of the Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS release in August.
Canonical backports the newer Linux kernel and graphics drivers from its latest interim release to its currently long-term support (LTS) version periodically. This update for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS uses components from Ubuntu 25.04, released back in April.
This means the Ubuntu 24.04.3 HWE is composed of the gaming-friendly Linux 6.14 kernel from Ubuntu 25.04, plus the Mesa 25.0.x series graphics drivers, a major uplift over the 24.2.x series users received in the 24.04.2 HWE update.
The graphics stack includes other components tied to GPU support, including new DirectX headers, spirv (headers and tools, glslang, wayland-protocols (newer build to satisfy Mesa, not a plucky backport).
The spirv-tools update carries a bug-fix required by the Intel shader compiler, while spirv-headers and glslang are included as build dependencies.
For those with older AMD, Intel and NVIDIA GPUs, there’s an updated mesa-amber package, which continues to provide support for legacy graphics cards. While those drivers don’t see many changes, they often include the odd fix – better than nothing.
Of note, Ubuntu’s developer say: “libglapi library got merged in mesa-libgallium but it can’t be directly used by external dependencies, so instead we’ll have mesa-amber build libglapi-amber which provides libglapi-mesa”.
What’s New in Mesa 25.0?
The Ubuntu 24.04.3 HWE ships with Mesa 25.0.7, which is the latest bug fix update in the 25.0.x series and a notable uplift over the 24.2.8 release that noble currently provides.
Given the leap from 24.2 – 25.0, there are a myriad of improvements provided for Ubuntu gamers and users running the distro on newer hardware, including:
- Vulkan 1.4 API
- Initial support for RDNA4 GPUs
- AV1 video decoding in the ANV Vulkan driver
- Improved NVK driver
- Issues with VA-API, H.264 video decoding resolved
Plus, Mesa 25.0.7 rolls together a raft of remedies for glitches, quirks and performance issues across a wide range of Linux games, including Steel Rats, Cyberpunk 2077, Octopath Traveller II, Fenyx Rising, Tales of Arise, Elden Ring and Hogwarts Legacy.
Coupled with the gaming performance improvements provided by Linux 6.14, which can boost frame rates by 50-150% in some Windows games running on Linux, the 24.04.3 HWE combo looks set to deliver a significant uplift for LTS gamers.
When will users get this HWE?
The Ubuntu 24.04.3 release date is set for August 7, 2025.
That is the date when a freshly-spun ISO with Linux kernel 6.14 and Mesa 25.0 preinstalled, alongside hundreds of bug fixes and software updates released since the last ISO was generated, is made available to download.
Existing Ubuntu 24.04 LTS users won’t have to wait until then.
The Mesa updates and the Linux 6.14 kernel backport is available in the noble-proposed repository for testing, and will be released to all users as a standard software update at some point in the next few weeks.