Work on the upcoming Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing Quokka) is already in full swing. This version is especially important, as it’s the final testing ground before the arrival of the next LTS release, Ubuntu 26.04. To kick things off, the roadmap is already clearly laid out:
- Feature Freeze: August 14, 2025
- User Interface Freeze: September 4, 2025
- Beta Release: September 18, 2025
- Final Release: October 9, 2025
Now, to the novelties. The desktop experience receives a refresh, as Questing Quokka will ship with GNOME 49, bringing updated shell extensions and a refreshed user interface.
However, what’s more interesting is that two entirely new core applications—Loupe image viewer and Ptyxis, a terminal emulator focused on ease of use in a world of containers—will debut in this release.
Moreover, important visual performance enhancements are on the horizon. VRR support is in the final stages of integration within Mutter, promising smoother frame delivery on compatible displays. At the same time, collaboration with NVIDIA and GNOME upstream continues to polish the Wayland experience on NVIDIA GPUs.
The highlight on the security side is the introduction of TPM-backed full-disk encryption. By October, users can view, save, or even print their recovery key during installation; afterwards, the Security Center will permit regeneration of that key if needed.
Additionally, the installer will display passphrase entropy and allow PIN-based unlocking, while safety prompts ensure users confirm they’ve secured their recovery key before firmware updates.
Enterprise workflows also receive a boost. First, the desktop installer will integrate Landscape, a powerful systems management tool developed by Canonical, enabling administrators to fetch autoinstall configuration files directly during provisioning, streamlining device enrollment and management.
At the same time, deeper ties with Microsoft Entra ID will allow Ubuntu devices to register natively, enforcing security policies centrally and facilitating unified device governance.
The Windows Subsystem for Linux also continues to evolve. In August, refreshed 24.04 images aligned with the forthcoming 24.04.3 LTS point release will debut. Beyond that, Ubuntu plans to migrate its 22.04 and 20.04 WSL images to a new format, ensuring consistent performance and user experience across supported versions.
Last but not least, beyond x86 and ARM, Ubuntu 25.10 plans to offer RISC-V architecture support, targeting compatibility with major applications like Firefox and Thunderbird.
For more information, see the announcement on Ubuntu Discourse.
