From present the wallpaper, the next interesting chapter in the development of Hirsute Hippo is the one just given: Canonical has released Ubuntu 21.04beta, the version of April 2021 that arrives with news and some important absence. The main flavor is accompanied by another 7, the Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Studio and Ubuntu Kylin, and the flavors that want to enter the family should also launch a beta soon, such as Ubuntu Cinnamon, Ubuntu Unity and UbuntuDDE.
Taking into account that the launch is of 8 official flavors, plus the three remixes that I think should be mentioned, it is not possible to collect all the news in an article like this, but we can mention some as they will use Linux 5.11. Ubuntu 21.04 will arrive with GNOME 3.38 and GTK3, but, if they don't back down, and nothing makes us think they are going to do it, will use GNOME 40 apps when ready.
Highlights of Ubuntu 21.04
In the beginning and if they do not change anything, which they should not because they have already frozen the functions, these would be the most outstanding news:
- Supported for 9 months.
- Linux 5.11.
- GNOME 3.38 with GTK3, but GNOME 40 apps.
- Change in the personal directory that will prevent access to other users.
- Dark theme for menus activated by default.
- Support for USB 4.0, PCI-E Express 6, Corsair Power Supply, among others.
- Python 3.9.
- Wayland by default.
- Applications updated to the latest version.
- They are working on a new installer. It is expected for 21.10, but right now it cannot be guaranteed that it will not be able to take a look at 21.04.
As for the rest of the flavors, they will all be part of a normal release, so they will be supported for 9 months. The main differences will be in the desktops, as Kubuntu will use Plasma 5.21 and KDE Applications 20.12.3. The release of the stable version is scheduled for exactly three weeks, that is, for the April 22.