Users can now also upgrade from Linux Mint 18.2 "Sonya"

Dec 16, 2017 15:30 GMT  ·  By

The Linux Mint team released the final Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" Xfce and Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" KDE editions to download, as well as an upgrade for existing Linux Mint 18.2 "Sonya" users.

Previously in beta, the Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" KDE and Xfce editions are now officially released and ready for production use. Just like the Cinnamon and MATE flavors, they are based on Canonical's long-term supported Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) operating system and use the Linux 4.10 kernel by default for new installations.

"Linux Mint 18.3 is a long-term support release which will be supported until 2021. It comes with updated software and brings refinements and many new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use," writes Clement Lefebvre in the release announcement. "This new version of Linux Mint contains many improvements."

Here's what's new in Linux Mint 18.3 KDE and Xfce

Both Xfce and KDE editions of Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" come with the same enhancements and new features that were introduced in the Cinnamon and MATE editions. These include Flatpak support in the Software Manager, a revamped Backup Tool, support for system snapshots with the Timeshift utility, and a new System Reports tool for reporting crashes.

While the Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" Xfce features the latest Xfce 4.12 desktop environment, Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" KDE comes with the long-term supported KDE Plasma 5.8 desktop environment, which will receive updates until April 2018. Both editions ship with the Redshift utility installed by default, artwork improvements, and a more configurable login screen.

The Xfce edition offers better looking and more customizable desktop notifications, brings support for symbolic icons, adds a new "Do not disturb" mode that prevents notifications from being displayed, as well as the ability to ignore notifications for certain apps. Xfce Terminal 0.8.0 is included in this release, and the task manager can now identify windows when you click on them.

Various enhancements were implemented in the Upload Manager, Driver Manager, and PIA Manager tools as well, and you can download Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" KDE and Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" Xfce 32-bit or 64-bit live ISO images right now from our website. Upgrading is recommended to all users running Linux Mint 18.2 "Sonya," but please note that the KDE edition won't receive new releases.

Linux Mint 18.3 KDE
Linux Mint 18.3 KDE

Linux Mint 18.3 (2 Images)

Linux Mint 18.3 Xfce
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