Upgrading your Ubuntu 16.04 LTS OS is highly recommended

Jan 21, 2017 04:15 GMT  ·  By

If you've been waiting to upgrade your Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) operating system to the 16.04.2 point release, which should have hit the streets a couple of days ago, you'll have to wait until February 2.

We hate to give you guys bad news, but Canonical's engineers are still working hard these days to port all the goodies from the Ubuntu 16.10 (Yakkety Yak) repositories to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, which is a long-term supported version, until 2021. These include the Linux 4.8 kernel packages and an updated graphics stack based on a newer X.Org Server version and Mesa 3D Graphics Library.

"Due to some parts of the HWE stack still being in flux, the 16.04.2 release will be pushed back to Feb 2," said Adam Conrad, Software Engineer at Canonical. "Don't take that as an excuse to shove more things in last-minute, but if you did have one or two critical bug fixes that weren't going to make it in time, it wouldn't hurt to throw those at the Xenial queue ASAP."

Mesa 13.0.3 could be included in the HWE stack

Unfortunately for Linux gamers using either Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS, or Ubuntu 16.10, the graphics stack provided by default is outdated. While Ubuntu 16.10 is shipping with the Mesa 12.0.3 3D Graphics Library, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS is still using the ancient and unsupported Mesa 11.2.0 release. However, both are using the X.Org Server 1.18.4 display server.

On February 2, 2017, that's about to change for those sticking with the long-term supported Ubuntu 16.04 series, as Canonical is planning to boost the graphics stack of the operating system with a newer Mesa version that's currently in testing. They are also bringing the Linux 4.8 kernel from the Ubuntu 16.10 repositories, and most probably upgrade the Mesa packages for Yakkety users too.

Of course, Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS will bring numerous other updated applications and core components, so upgrading is highly recommended. In the meantime, if you can't wait for Canonical to update the Linux kernel and graphics stack for Xenial Xerus, or Ubuntu 16.10 for that matter, don't hesitate to use the third-party Padoka or Oibaf PPAs, as they offer optimized graphics drivers based on Mesa Git for an improved gaming experience.