When Ubuntu 24.04 Release?

It is always the time to celebrate when a community is willing to wait for one of the most popular Linux distributions, almost the time of the release of the next Long-Term Support edition. This will bring personal and enterprise users new features and improvements as well as long-term stability in terms of the Noble Numbat designation, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

In this knowledge base article, we are going to discuss the release date expectation, what may be coming, and what this means for the Ubuntu ecosystem.

When Can I Expect Ubuntu 24.04 to be Released?

Ubuntu has a schedule of releases. It is, therefore, easy for the user and organizations to plan their upgrades and deployments. Here is what we know about the release of Ubuntu 24.04:

Expected Date of Release: April 25, 2024

Development cycle start: October 26, 2023- This starts immediately after the release of Ubuntu 23.10

Feature freeze: February 29, 2024

UI Freeze: March 14, 2024

Final freeze: April 18, 2024

Although the expected date of this release is April 25, 2024, unforeseen reasons may bring it out a little later than scheduled. Still, Canonical- the folks behind Ubuntu- have been consistent in their release dates over time.

What's Special About This Release?

Ubuntu 24.04 is no ordinary release; it is an LTS version. Here's why this matters:

Long-term support: The desktop version will be supported for five years, and the server version for ten years. This means that security updates and critical bugs will be available until at least April 2029 (or 2034 for servers).

Excellent stability: With such high demands for the highest level of stability rather than leading-edge bleeding-edge features, they should be good enough, ideally for production environments, enterprises, and users who say, "Set it and forget it."

Major Overhaul: Most of the features and improvements made to the application since the last LTS version will be included.

What's New?

The final list of new features will still be determined near the release date, but based on trends in the development pipeline and community feedback, here are some of the potential new features:

Updated GNOME Desktop: The default desktop environment could be GNOME 46. This should bring better performance and new features to that specific desktop.

Kernel Upgrade: It could be Linux kernel 6.7 and even 6.8, bringing more hardware support and performance.

The ease of use in Snap and Flatpak Universal package formats might make it easy to distribute and manage applications.

Better security: system hardening, encryption, access control, and more.

AI and Machine Learning Tools: There is a greater focus on AI; as a result, we could now soon see support for AI/ML development tools and libraries.

Sustainability Features: Canonical has lately been pushing for energy efficiency, so we will likely see some new tools to track and optimize power consumption.

Improved ZFS Support: Continue improving the integration of the ZFS file system.

Newer Application Stack: New versions of popular applications and development tools

Preparation for Upgrade

If you intend to upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 when available, follow these steps beforehand.

Backup Your Data: Always back up your important data before performing a major OS update.

Check Hardware Compatibility: Take a review of the system requirements and ensure your hardware is compatible.

List Your Critical Applications: Ensure the applications you depend on will work with the new version.

Clean Your System: Remove unused files and applications to speed up the upgrade.

Stay Informed: The best sources of new information on the release are the Ubuntu official channels.

The Road to Release

As the release date approaches, here's what you can expect:

Daily Builds Available: You will be able to test daily builds shortly after the development cycle starts.

Alpha and Beta Releases: These are usually available a few months before the final version to make them accessible for community testing and feedback.

Release Candidate: This is usually accessible about a week or two before the final version and almost near the final product.

Upgrading Right Away?

While the excitement of a new LTS release is no doubt thrilling, it is worth wondering if an immediate upgrade is your best choice:

Upgrading of Windows for home users: If the cosmetic minor issues do not bother you, wait until after a few months when things have been stabilized and bugs ironed out; it becomes exciting and worthwhile to upgrade.

For businesses, it is usually wise to wait for a few months after release since this will enable any bugs related to the initial release to be sorted out.

For mission-critical systems, you should wait for the first point release, which usually comes a few months after the first actual release, as this includes fixes on essential problems.

Conclusion

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is being called "Noble Numbat" and is shaping up to be a pretty exciting release. There's going to be a five-year base for all Ubuntu users. General availability is expected on April 25, 2024, so we should be in for a stable, more secure, and feature-rich Ubuntu experience.

Whether you are a familiar Ubuntu user, some new curiosity, or an IT administrator managing enterprise systems, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS promises to offer something for everyone. Look for additional, more detailed announcements and feature confirmations coming from Canonical as we count down to the release of the new version of Ubuntu.

Remember that the world of open-source is moving at a hundred miles an hour, so while this information is current for our last review, it's always great to check in on Ubuntu's official channels for more current updates and release information.