Ubuntu 23.04 Beta Now Available for General Testing
Canonical has finally released the beta version of the upcoming Lunar Lobster OS with plenty of GNOME goodness.
Of all the many Ubuntu Spins, the official Ubuntu release will highlight some of the most important updates for the desktop distribution… mainly by way of GNOME 44.
Although the other 23.04 spins will enjoy their own updates (such as Kubuntu including KDE Plasma 5.27), only the official version will include everything brought about by the latest iteration of GNOME.
Along with the fresh update to GNOME, Lunar Lobster will also include Linux kernel 6.2, an up-to-date toolchain (such as GCC 13, systemd 252.5, BlueZ 5.66.2, NetworkManager 1.42, PipeWire 0.3.65, and Mesa 23).
One of the biggest changes that comes along with 23.04 is the brand new, Flutter-based installer. The new installer UI is more modern looking and is just as easy to use as the previous iteration.
The only downside to the new installer is that it doesn't yet support ZFS installations. Should you wish to install Ubuntu 23.04 with ZFS support, there will be a version of the OS with a legacy installer that includes support for the file system.
You can download the ISO for the beta from the official Ubuntu Releases page or download one of the betas for the official spins from fridge.ubuntu.com.
