All Ubuntu LTS Versions — From Newest to Oldest

🐧 Quick Reference

26.04 LTS — Resolute Raccoon 🦝

Released: April 23, 2026 · EOL: April 2031

The latest LTS. Biggest change: Wayland is now mandatory for GNOME — no more Xorg session option.

Highlights:

• GNOME 50 — Wayland-only, HDR, fractional scaling (stable)

• Linux Kernel 7.0

• TPM-backed full disk encryption by default

• Rust-based sudo for memory safety

• New default apps: Ptyxis (terminal), Showtime (video), Resources (monitor), Papers (PDF)

Best for: Desktops, modern laptops, servers, cloud, Raspberry Pi 4/5 Min RAM: 4 GB (6 GB recommended for desktop)

🎨 UX Take: The Wayland-only move is a bold, long-overdue bet. Smoother rendering and native gestures finally feel mainstream. The refreshed Yaru icons and curated default app set give Ubuntu a more intentional, cohesive feel — less "whatever ships" and more "designed."

24.04 LTS — Noble Numbat 🦘

Released: April 25, 2024 · EOL: April 2029

A solid refinement release focused on developer tooling and a revamped software experience.

Highlights:

• GNOME 46 with improved global search in Files

• Linux Kernel 6.8 — AMD 890M, Intel Meteor Lake

• Flutter-based App Center replaces old Software app

• New Ubuntu Desktop Installer (also Flutter-based)

• Improved Snap sandboxing and permissions

Best for: Developers, workstations, cloud deployments Min RAM: 4 GB

🎨 UX Take: The new App Center looks great but caused friction early on around .deb installs — the Snap-first approach felt forced. The installer redesign is genuinely better though: cleaner layout, faster, and more modern than what it replaced.

22.04 LTS — Jammy Jellyfish 🪼

Released: April 21, 2022 · EOL: April 2027

The post-pandemic workhorse LTS. Wildly popular, extremely stable.

Highlights:

• GNOME 42 with dark mode system-wide

• Linux Kernel 5.15 LTS

• Pipewire replaces PulseAudio for audio

• New screenshot & screen recording tool

• Mozilla Firefox ships as Snap by default

Best for: Most users — desktops, servers, IoT Min RAM: 4 GB

🎨 UX Take: GNOME 42's dark mode was the headline — and it delivered. The system-wide dark preference felt unified for the first time. The Firefox-as-Snap controversy was real though; startup times were noticeably slower. Still the most-installed Ubuntu LTS to date.

20.04 LTS — Focal Fossa 🐈

Released: April 23, 2020 · EOL: April 2025

Released during COVID-19, became the backbone of remote work setups everywhere.

Highlights:

• GNOME 3.36 — revamped lock screen and login

• Linux Kernel 5.4 LTS

• WireGuard VPN built into the kernel

• Yaru theme refresh (a big visual glow-up)

• Python 2 officially dropped

Best for: Servers, desktops, long-running production environments Min RAM: 2 GB

🎨 UX Take: The Yaru refresh was significant — Ubuntu finally had a coherent, attractive default theme. The GNOME 3.36 login screen redesign was clean. Compared to 18.04, 20.04 felt like a real design maturity leap.

18.04 LTS — Bionic Beaver 🦫

Released: April 26, 2018 · EOL: April 2023

The release that completed Ubuntu's switch to GNOME. Goodbye, Unity.

Highlights:

• GNOME 3.28 as the default desktop (Unity officially retired)

• Linux Kernel 4.15

• Color emoji support out of the box 🎉

• Netplan for network configuration

• Minimal install option added

Best for: Servers, enterprise, developers coming from Unity Min RAM: 2 GB

🎨 UX Take: A huge transition. Dropping Unity for GNOME divided the community, but in hindsight it was the right call. The GNOME shell felt foreign to long-time Ubuntu users at first — extensions and tweaks were essentially required for a comfortable experience. The transition was bumpy, but necessary.

16.04 LTS — Xenial Xerus 🐿️

Released: April 21, 2016 · EOL: April 2021

The last great Unity LTS. Snaps made their debut here.

Highlights:

• Unity 7 (last LTS with Unity as default)

• Linux Kernel 4.4 LTS

• Snap packages introduced for the first time

• ZFS filesystem support added

• apt command introduced (cleaner than apt-get)

Best for: Traditional desktops, servers, cloud Min RAM: 2 GB

🎨 UX Take: Unity 7 was actually in great shape by this point — polished, fast, and coherent. HUD search was genuinely useful. It's often remembered fondly by those who stuck with it. The Snap debut was low-key but set the stage for everything that followed (for better or worse).

14.04 LTS — Trusty Tahr 🐐

Released: April 17, 2014 · EOL: April 2019

A deliberate "stability over features" release. Extremely reliable.

Highlights:

• Unity 7.2

• Linux Kernel 3.13

• Long-term kernel support

• Mir display server in early testing

• LibreOffice 4.2, GNOME 3.10 apps

Best for: Enterprise desktops, conservative deployments Min RAM: 1 GB

🎨 UX Take: Intentionally boring — and that was the point. Shuttleworth explicitly asked for "conservative choices." The result was Ubuntu's most dependable desktop yet. No major visual surprises, just a polished Unity experience. Enterprises loved it.

12.04 LTS — Precise Pangolin 🦔

Released: April 26, 2012 · EOL: April 2017

Unity grew up here. A pivotal release in Ubuntu's design identity.

Highlights:

• Unity 5 — greatly matured from its rocky 11.04 debut

• Linux Kernel 3.2 LTS

• HUD (Heads-Up Display) for app menus

• Online Lens integration in Dash (controversial later)

• Introduced Ubuntu One cloud

Best for: Desktops, early cloud users Min RAM: 512 MB

🎨 UX Take: HUD was a genuinely novel idea — type to search any app's menus. Ahead of its time. Unity 5 finally felt like a real desktop environment rather than a rough prototype. Many designers consider this the peak of the Ubuntu design vision.

10.04 LTS — Lucid Lynx 🐱

Released: April 29, 2010 · EOL: April 2015

The release that brought Ubuntu to mainstream attention. Massive leap forward.

Highlights:

• GNOME 2.30 with new Ambiance & Radiance themes

• Linux Kernel 2.6.32

• Ubuntu One cloud storage launched

• Social media integration via Gwibber

• Boot time under 10 seconds on modern hardware

Best for: Mass-market desktops, laptops Min RAM: 256 MB

🎨 UX Take: The Ambiance theme (dark panel, orange accents) became Ubuntu's iconic look for years. It was a massive visual upgrade over 8.04 and gave Ubuntu a distinct, recognizable identity. This is the release that convinced many Windows switchers that Linux could be beautiful.

8.04 LTS — Hardy Heron 🦢

Released: April 24, 2008 · EOL: April 2013

The second-ever LTS. Set the standard for what an LTS should be.

Highlights:

• GNOME 2.22

• Linux Kernel 2.6.24

• First LTS to support both desktop and server long-term

• Wubi installer (install Ubuntu from Windows)

• Firefox 3 as default browser

Best for: Long-running desktop and server installs Min RAM: 256 MB

🎨 UX Take: Ubuntu's "Human" theme (brown + orange) was divisive but iconic. Wubi was a clever onboarding trick — install Ubuntu inside Windows without repartitioning. Not beautiful by today's standards, but trustworthy and solid. A lot of today's Linux users started here.

6.06 LTS — Dapper Drake 🦆

Released: June 1, 2006 · EOL: July 2009

The first-ever Ubuntu LTS. A historic release.

Highlights:

• GNOME 2.14

• Linux Kernel 2.6.15

• Live CD merged with Install CD (revolutionary at the time)

• Graphical Ubiquity installer debut

• "Human" visual theme — brown, warm, welcoming

Best for: Historical curiosity; server installs of the era Min RAM: 256 MB

🎨 UX Take: Dapper Drake set the tone for everything. The merged Live/Install CD was a brilliant UX move — try before you install. The Ubiquity installer was friendly and graphical when most Linux installs were text-based nightmares. It told the world: Ubuntu is for humans.

💡 Which LTS Should You Use?

LTS versions are always the safe pick. When in doubt, grab the latest LTS from ubuntu.com/download.

Sources: Ubuntu Release Notes, Wikipedia, Canonical Blog