14 DAY TRIAL // If you're eager to try the upcoming Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" operating system on your personal computer, you can now install the beta version with either Cinnamon or MATE desktops.
The Linux Mint development team has uploaded today the Linux Mint 18.3 Beta release to the official download mirror, with 64-bit and 32-bit live ISO images of both Cinnamon and MATE editions of the operating system, though no official announcement was published at the moment of writing.
We downloaded both Cinnamon and MATE editions of Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" Beta and took a quick look inside to see what's new. We can confirm that the OS is based on Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS (Xenial Xerus) and runs the Linux 4.10 HWE (Hardware Enablement) kernel from Ubuntu 17.04 (Zesty Zapus).
Ships with Cinnamon 3.6.2 and MATE 1.18 by default
As you can see from the screenshot gallery below, the Linux Mint 18.3 Beta release ships with the latest Cinnamon 3.6.2 and MATE 1.18 desktop environments by default, as well as all the updates and security patches from the Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS repositories. Several of the preinstalled apps are at their latest versions as well.
Most probably the Linux Mint team is preparing in-depth release notes for both the Cinnamon and MATE editions of their upcoming Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" operating system, so we can see what new features and improvements they implemented in Cinnamon 3.6, but also in their X-Apps.
Until an official announcement is published, you can go ahead and download either the Linux Mint 18.3 Beta Cinnamon or MATE editions for 64-bit or 32-bit hardware right now through our website. However, please try to keep in mind that these are pre-release versions, not stable enough to be used for any production work.
