As the name implies, a Ubuntu-based Linux Lite is designed to be a lightweight, fast, and easy-to-use Linux distro. It is popular for users with older hardware or those who want a simple and user-friendly operating system.
Linux Lite comes preinstalled with various software, including the LibreOffice suite, the Firefox web browser, and the VLC media player. It also includes multiple customization options and features, such as a system backup tool and a simple, intuitive interface.
Today, five months after the previous 6.2 release, the team behind the distro announced Linux Lite 6.4 as a continuation of the 6.x series. So let’s have a look at what has changed.
What’s New in Linux Lite 6.4?
Based on Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS, Linux Lite 6.4 ships with the not-so-new Xfce 4.16 desktop environment. Given that Xfce 4.18 has been available for over three months and is already used by many distributions, Linux Lite users will be slightly disappointed that it is not included in this new distribution release.
However, this does not mean users do not receive updates on the user interface. On the contrary, the popular Papirus icon theme has been updated to its latest version, and new wallpapers have been added.
At the same time, the strongest emphasis in Linux Lite 6.4 on the client side is on the Thunderbird mail client. It now features revamped icons, a spaces toolbar, a new address book, message header customization, an import and export wizard, and matrix chat support.
The systemd reports have been added in-house developed Lite System Report tool, as this feature will assist users with diagnosing many booting and general system issues. In addition, Linux Lite’s in-house apps are being repackaged using ZSTD, a fast compression algorithm providing high compression ratios, which allows for significantly faster decompression times and higher compression rates.
We’ll wrap up the review of user application improvements with the news that the Thunar file manager now provides the ability to preview WEBP thumbnails.
Under the hood, Linux Lite 6.4, as in the previous 6.2 release, is powered by the Linux kernel 5.15. In addition, several applications have been updated, including Google Chrome 111, Thunderbird 102.9, LibreOffice 7.4.6, VLC 3.0.16, GIMP 2.10.30, and Linux Lite’s application suite. Furthermore, the Linux Lite hardware database now has over 80,000 submissions.
Finally, we want to stress one important thing. Because Linux Lite is built on Ubuntu, Snap dependencies are not removed, unlike other distributions such as Linux Mint. As a result, you get all of the benefits and drawbacks of this. For example, when you try to install the Firefox web browser, you get the Snap version, just like in Ubuntu. Also, Flatpak support is not included in the default Linux Lite installation.
You can refer to the announcement for detailed information about all changes in Linux Lite 6.4. And finally, if you want to give Linux Lite 6.4 a try, you can download the installation ISO images here.
