Will be supported for three years, until April 2021

Apr 26, 2018 23:05 GMT  ·  By

Xubuntu 18.04 LTS has been released today as part of the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) operating system series, as a long-term supported version that brings several important changes and enhancements.

There are numerous changes in Xubuntu 18.04 LTS since Xubuntu 17.10 and Xubuntu 16.04 LTS, and we'll start with what's under the hood. Xubuntu 18.04 LTS ships with the latest Xfce 4.12 desktop environment, but various GNOME apps have been swapped out with corresponding MATE apps, including Evince with Atril, File Roller with Engrampa, and GNOME Calculator with MATE Calculator.

A PulseAudio Bluetooth module has been included in this release for out-of-the-box support for Bluetooth audio devices, and Blueman 2.0.5 is included by default to provide support for game controllers and modems. Additionally, the numlockx package is included by default in Xubuntu 18.04 LTS to offer improved support of keyboard number pads.

Among some user-visible changes, it is worth noting that the Xubuntu login screen, which ships with the LightDM GTK+ Greeter, saw various enhancements in this release, including better support for multi-monitor configurations, accessibility and autologin improvements, as well as support for its accompanying configuration tool to better detect more recent GTK+ themes.

Xubuntu 18.04 LTS also comes with an updated Greybird GTK+ theme that includes a new dark style, better HiDPI support, greater consistency between GTK+ 2 and GTK+ 3 apps, GTK+ 3 styles for Google Chrome and Chromium web browsers, smaller switches, and improved scales. However, the GTK Theme Configuration tool was removed and it's no longer possible to override colors in themes.

Included apps and updated Xfce components

Among the included apps and Xfce components, we can mention Parole Media Player 1.0.1, Thunar 1.6.15, Xfce Power Manager 1.6.1, Xfce Notifications 0.4.2, Xfburn 0.5.5, Xfce Panel 4.12.2, Xfce Terminal 0.8.7, Xfce Weather Plugin 0.8.10, Xfce Whisker Menu Plugin 2.1.5, Xfce XKB Plugin 0.8.1, MenuLibre 2.2.0, Catfish 1.4.4, LibreOffice 6.0, Mozilla Firefox 59.0.2, Mozilla Thunderbird 52.7.0, and exo 0.12.0.

Also included is the new xfce4-notifyd panel plugin that makes it easier for users to toggle the “Do Not Disturb” mode, as well as to view missed notifications. Furthermore, the Sound Indicator was replaced with the Xfce PulseAudio Plugin, and the Application Indicator has been replaced with the more configurable and better supported Status Notifier Plugin.

Like Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Xubuntu 18.04 LTS is powered by Linux kernel 4.15. Study the release notes if you're curious to know what's new in any of these components. Meanwhile, you can download Xubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) for either 32-bit or 64-bit systems right now through our web portal if you want to install it on your personal computer, or use our tutorial here if you're upgrading from a previous release, such as Xubuntu 17.10 or Xubuntu 16.04 LTS.

Xubuntu 18.04 LTS - Applications Menu
Xubuntu 18.04 LTS - Applications Menu

Xubuntu 18.04 LTS (2 Images)

Xubuntu 18.04 LTS
Xubuntu 18.04 LTS - Applications Menu
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