Ubuntu 21.10 "Impish Indri" is now available in all editions for download. This is the final update in a six-month cycle leading up to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, which will be released in April.
The GNOME 40 desktop environment, as well as the GTK4 library, are among the many new features in Ubuntu 21.10. In Overview mode, virtual desktops now have a clearer horizontal orientation. Wayland has also benefited from the new GNOME, especially because it now supports the latest proprietary NVIDIA driver.
The system was upgraded to the Linux 5.13 kernel to support the new hardware. This isn't quite as nice as Linux 5.14, but it's a significant improvement over Ubuntu 21.04's 5.11. The move to the Zstd technique for compressing Debian packages was made in the new OS, resulting in installation times that are nearly twice as fast. At the same time, Mozilla Firefox, the default browser, is now available as a Snap-package, allowing it to be updated more quickly because it is endorsed by the browser developers. There is also a classic deb version, however it is only accessible as an option.
Ubuntu 21.10 includes a new kernel, GNOME 40, and other improvements.
The system now has a new Ubuntu Desktop installation — the low-level curtin add-on is written in Dart, and the user interface is built using the Flutter framework. The Ubuntu desktop is designed in a contemporary style. Reinstalling packages with settings saved, familiarizing with the distribution kit in Live mode, and installing it on disk are the three modes accessible.
The work with Bluetooth is improved in the current version of the PulseAudio sound server. Support has been added for the HFP (Hands-Free Profile) profile, as well as the LDAC and AptX codecs. It's also worth noting that the archive contains PHP 8.0, as well as the upgraded GCC 11 system compiler with AMD Zen 3 support and Mesa 21.2.
A number of innovations are also accessible in the system's other editions. Kubuntu's KDE Plasma 5.22 desktop with KDE Gear 21.08 program collection; Ubuntu MATE's MATE 1.26 environment.
Kernel 5.13
The Linux Kernel 5.13 is included in Ubuntu 21.10, and it adds support for Kernel Electric Fence (KFENCE). KFENCE is a novel run-time memory error detector for production situations that minimizes overhead while identifying the most frequent memory faults. On both amd64 and arm64 architectures, Ubuntu 21.10 will randomize the memory location of the kernel stack at each system-call entry by default.
Download
Canonical has released Ubuntu 21.10 for 64-bit x86 PCs. There are also Raspberry Pi system images.