Linux Mint team announced that the latest version of its operating system Linux Mint 20 “Ulyana”, and it is available for download and upgrades.
Coming after a couple of days since the BETA release, Linux Mint 20 brings some core and major changes. Here’s a summary for you.
What’s New in Linux Mint 20
One of the major architectural changes that Linux Mint 20 is bringing – dropping the support for 32-bit images officially and only to be available as a 64-bit image. That means the older computers or hardware will not be able to run the latest Linux Mint 20. But if you are having an older system setup running Linux 18.x, 19.x – they will continue to run but will not be getting security and other updates when support ends.
Linux Mint 20 is based on the current Ubuntu 20.04 LTS release and available with the usual three desktop environment variants – Cinnamon, XFCE, and MATE. With this release, you get the latest Cinnamon 4.6, XFCE 4.14, and MATE 1.24.
Default Cinnamon desktop 4.6 brings some of the important updates such as built-in fractional scaling support, improved display settings with the option to choose monitor frequency.
The default Nemo file manager in Cinnamon 4.6 sees performance improvements for slower HDD and heavy I/O operation by improving thumbnail processing.
Linux Mint 20 is also dropping support Snap package installation by disabling it by default. The primary reason behind this is “Chromium” which is available as a Snap in Ubuntu Software App. There has been heated debate going on this decision from Linux Mint.
Those who like new themes and look, good news. Linux Mint 20 brings two new color schemes Mint-Y – Pink, and Aqua. This is how the Pink theme looks. Who wants a Pink theme anyway.
Here’s the consolidated list of changes in Linux Mint 20 (across variants)
- Based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.
- Linux Kernel 5.4.
- Only the 64-bit version images.
- Cinnamon 4.6 with Improved Nemo file manager.
- Two new color themes – Pink and Aqua.
- New tool to share encrypted files over the network named “Warpinator”
- Improvements in XappStatusIcon applets
- Add support for StatusNotifier, libAppIndicator, and libAyatana
- Drop support for Snap
A detailed changelog is available here: XFCE edition, Cinnamon Edition and MATE Edition.
Before you hit download and plan for the upgrade, here’s a quick system spec guide for you:
Linux Mint 20 System requirements:
- 1GB RAM (2GB recommended for a comfortable usage).
- 15GB of disk space (20GB recommended).
- 1024×768 resolution (on lower resolutions, press ALT to drag windows with the mouse if they don’t fit in the screen).
Download
You can download the latest Linux Mint 20 (all three variants) from the below links (download links are at the bottom after you open the page). After download, you can mount the ISO in a USB stick and experience the latest Linux Mint.
Overall, another major release from the Linux Mint team. Linux Mint is one of those transition distributions for Windows users who want to ditch Windows for cost and other reasons and migrates to Linux forever. Also Linux Mint just works if you install it for the first time without any need for additional tweaking or software. With this release, Linux Mint become more appealing to beginners and advanced users.
Via release announcement.
