Ubuntu 26.04 was released on 23 April 2026. Some of the changes are listed below.

01. Powered by Linux Kernel 7.0

02. Defaults to GNOME 50

03. New security center (introduced in 24.10)

04. Gnome Terminal is replaced by Ptyxis (introduced in 25.10)

05. Following GNOME policy Papers document viewer (replacing Evince) and Loupe image viewer (replacing Eye of Gnome) were also added

06. Showtime video player (replacing Totem) (GNOME introduced in version 49) is now the default

07. Resources system monitor to manage apps, system processes, and monitor CPU, GPU, Memory, etc. hardware utilization.

08. Removed Software & Updates (and Additional Drivers)

09. Moved Ubuntu Pro management to Security Center

10. Added a new Disk Encryption setting panel in Security Center

11. Added permission control for Snap apps (e.g., the default Firefox) trying to access user files or folders (introduced in 24.10)

12. Added permission control for using camera and microphone

13. Update folder icons (whole folder now changes color instead of just the accent color that you set)

14. Default fonts are once again thicker and darker (originally changed in 23.04 to thin and lighter)

15. Thanks to GNOME 50, the new desktop features daily time limit and bedtime support for parental controls, hardware acceleration, HiPDI support, camera redirection for remote desktop, HDR screen sharing, and many other features

16. New animation in boot animation

17. Ubuntu Insights (Ubuntu Report replacement) in settings

18. Ubuntu Pro support on WSL

19. Authd in official repository

20. SPDM-based fingerprint authentication

21. Display asterisk feedback when typing password in terminal/command console

22. Remove support IBM Z generations z14 or older

23. Ships with Wayland only. Ubuntu desktop no longer will run on X.org (introduced in 25.10). Some “flavors” can still be launched using X.org session.