Linux Mint announced the immediate BETA release of its upcoming version Linux Mint 20 “Ulyana”.
Scheduled for the end of June 2020, Linux Mint 20 promises plenty of new features in its primary three flavors XFCE, Cinnamon, and MATE.
This beta release is the pre-final version to iron out last-minute bugs and is available for download immediately.
Before you hit download, here are the upcoming changes in the Linux Mint 20 which you should check out now before your final experience with Linux Mint 20.
What’s New in Linux Mint 20
Linux Mint 20 is dropping support for 32-bit images officially and only to be available as a 64-bit image. That means the older computers will not be able to run the latest Linux Mint. 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.
It is based on the current Ubuntu 20.04 LTS release and available with 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.
Latest Cinnamon 4.6 is coming with 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. 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.
On the look and feel aspect, the Linux Mint 20 – guarantees 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 well-known changes in Linux Mint 20.
- 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
Download
Before you head over to download, remember as always that it is a BETA release and not recommended for production deployment. So try it with a virtual machine or LIVE disk.
Linux Mint 20 is slotted to release end of this month. Untill then experience the BETA version.
Via Linux Mint Blog
