Things you should know about Ubuntu 20.04

Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) is a free, customizable, coherent OS that’s easy to install. If you are looking to try a Linux-based OS, we recommended you start with this excellent distro.

Ubuntu 20.04 Release Date

Ubuntu 20.04 was released on Thursday April 23, 2020.

The release date was first revealed on Launchpad (the home of Ubuntu development) and later echoed on the Ubuntu wiki.

Other important milestones to occur throughout the Focal Fossa development cycle include:

1.         Testing week: January 9, 2020

2.         UI Freeze: March 19, 2020

3.         Ubuntu 20.04 Beta: April 2, 2020

4.         Kernel Freeze: April 9, 2020

5.         Release Candidate: April 16, 2020

The first Ubuntu 20.04 point release is pencilled in for release in July, 2020.

What's New in Ubuntu?

Ubuntu regularly releases updates to its desktop OS and version numbers are always stylized as YY.MM. New versions also get alliterative code names in the style of [Adjective] [Animal]. Focal Fossa is the latest biannual (every two years) LTS release and the main subject of this review. The previous LTS release was 18.04 (Bionic Beaver). Ubuntu guarantees that LTS releases get five years of security and maintenance updates.

1. More default theme variants and the aubergine touch

Canonical is experimenting with themes again. In Ubuntu 19.10, the default Yaru theme introduced a dark version. Ubuntu 20.04 takes it further three variants of the default Yaru theme: Light, Dark and Standard.

Ubuntu 20.04 also has slightly different look with emphasis on aubergine as second accent color (instead of the regular blue and green).

2. GNOME 3.36 and all the visual and performance improvements that come with it

Ubuntu 20.04 has the latest GNOME 3.36 release. This means that all the new features in 3.36 are also available for Ubuntu 20.04.

3. Disable all desktop notification with ‘Do Not Disturb’ button

Getting distracted by desktop notifications? You can utilize the ‘do not disturb’ option to toggle the desktop notifications.

4. Fractional scaling

Ubuntu finally brings fractional scaling. If you always found that icons at 100% looked too small and bit too big at 200%, you can take advantage of the fractional scaling.

5. Linux Kernel 5.4

Ubuntu 20.04 features the latest LTS kernel 5.4. This means that you get native ExFAT support and all the other performance improvements and new hardware supports that come with it.

6. Faster install, faster boot

Thanks to the new compression algorithms, it now takes less time to install Ubuntu 20.04. Not only that, Ubuntu 20.04 also boots faster in comparison to 18.04.

Things you should know about Ubuntu 20.04

Ubuntu 20.04 is a LTS (long term support) release. It will be supported for five years. This means if you use 20.04, you can use it till April, 2025 without needing to upgrade your computer to a new Ubuntu release.

Enterprise clients can buy the extended support maintenance for five more years.

If you are using Ubuntu 18.04 or Ubuntu 19.10, you’ll be able to upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04 from within your system.

If you are using Ubuntu 16.04, you would need to upgrade to Ubuntu 18.04 first and then upgrade to 20.04.