At the end of April, Canonical released the final version of Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver. Since it is an LTS release, it has more significance than other Ubuntu with a nine-month support cycle. The release of 18.04 also means that work has begun on the next release.
Ubuntu 18.10 Codename
The code name of Ubuntu 18.10 is “Cosmic Cuttlefish” – as announced by the founder of Canonical, Mark Shuttleworth. «It’s time to turn our attention to 20.04 LTS and I’m glad to say that we will start this journey with Cosmic Cuttlefish, which will soon be known as Ubuntu 18.10», he wrote in a blog post.
Earlier, it was predicted that 18.10 would be called Cosmic CANIMAL, as was the name that appeared on the Daily Build page. Generally, after the release of one version of Ubuntu, Mark Shuttleworth usually reveals the official codename of the next one.
If you are an Ubuntu user, you will know that Canonical follows an alphabetical order. Since Ubuntu 18.04 was named Bionic Beaver, 18.10 is a combination of two names that start with the letter C.
Ubuntu 18.10 release date
Canonical has not yet announced the official release date of Ubuntu 18.10 Cosmic Cuttlefish. However, it is almost certain that it will be released sometime in October.
Ubuntu 18.10 expected features
Since the next release is still in an early development phase, the main features of Ubuntu 18.10 have not been disclosed. However, certain changes and capabilities are expected to be included:
- GNOME 3.30
Given that GNOME 3.30 is scheduled to be released on September 6, 2018, there is a high likelihood that Ubuntu 18.10 will be released with the same or a newer version.
- Linux kernel 5.0
The next Linux kernel release could be Linux 5.0. This means that Ubuntu 18.10 could be released with Linux 5.0 or a newer version.
- Themes and icons
A significant feature of Ubuntu that was expected to be released with 18.04 was the new themes and icons. However, due to many bugs that appeared, these features were postponed to 18.10.
- There are no Alpha / beta Milestones
The team behind Ubuntu 18.10 Cosmic Cuttlefish decided to stop the Alpha and Beta Milestones. They will be replaced by testing weeks, which will be organized from Tuesday to Thursday. This is done to ensure a better testing process.
- Zstd compression by default
To improve performance, Ubuntu 18.10 could be released with Zstd enabled by default.
- Ubuntu Studio restart
The Ubuntu Studio team plans to reboot the Linux distro for the Cosmic release. It also plans to discontinue the Xfce desktop and create an alternative.
- Default LXQt desktop in Lubuntu
Lubuntu is another distro that will see major changes in 18.10. The development team of this distribution has been finalized, to switch LXQt as the default desktop environment.
Download Ubuntu 18.10 Cosmic Cuttlefish Daily
According to the latest developments, Ubuntu 18.10 Cosmic Cuttlefish has already started to develop and add new features, and Daily Images are available for testing. However, as these are very early builds, we advise you to avoid installing them on your computer. Prefer an older machine or use a virtual machine.
