Ubuntu 18.04 Released
“Bionic Beaver” comes with hardware-focused improvements and Gnome as the default shell.
Canonical has announced the release of Ubuntu 18.04, aka Bionic Beaver. It’s an LTS (long term support) release that’s suitable for enterprise customers and servers. Ubuntu 18.04 LTS will be supported for 5 years for Ubuntu Desktop, Ubuntu Server, and Ubuntu Core.
Ubuntu 18.04 is also the first Ubuntu LTS, after years, that ships with Gnome as the default desktop shell. In recent releases, Canonical has used its own Unity Shell on top of Gnome to gain more influence and control over the user experience.
Ubuntu 18.04 comes with a customized version of Linux kernel 4.15 that adds support for the latest hardware and peripherals. Some of the hardware-focused improvements that this kernel brings to Ubuntu include CPU controller for the cgroup v2 interface, AMD secure memory encryption support, the latest MD driver with software RAID enhancements, and management for systems with SATA Link Power Management.
Java users will continue to use OpenJDK 8, which has moved to universe and will remain available for the life of 18.04. The move is intended to help developers with migration issues for packages, custom applications, or scripts that can’t be built with OpenJDK 10 or 11.
Security is one of the core features of Ubuntu 18.04. In a conference call, Mark Shuttleworth, the founder and CEO of Canonical, said that Ubuntu 18.04 is fully protected against Spectre and Meltdown.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.