Things you need to consider before downloading Ubuntu 16.04

Apr 21, 2016 00:00 GMT  ·  By

Later today, April 21, 2016, Canonical will unveil the sixth LTS (Long Term Support) release of the popular Ubuntu Linux operating system, Ubuntu 16.04, dubbed Xenial Xerus.

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS has been in development for the past six months, during which the community was able to install and test a single development version internally called "Final Beta." The six-month development cycle of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS has now officially ended, and Canonical prepares for the final, April 21 launch, as originally planned.

On this occasion, we thought it would be a very good idea to give you, guys, a little information on how to prepare for the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) release later today. We'll thus start with those who want to upgrade to the new version from an older one, such as Ubuntu 14.04 LTS or Ubuntu 15.10.

We've already prepared two easy-to-follow tutorials about how to upgrade Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and how to upgrade Ubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, so please click on any of them, depending on your current Ubuntu OS, to learn how to move to the new Ubuntu release.

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS download links, release time, etc.

The April 21 launch of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS is mostly an official way for Canonical to give users access to the download links and tell the world that their new Ubuntu OS has been released. So basically, when you see the official announcement, you know that you'll be able to download the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Live ISO images.

We recommend that you use torrents to download the ISOs, which will be available for both 64-bit and 32-bit PCs so that others can get them fast too and don't crash the main download servers. Of course, if you're upgrading, there's no need to download anything, as the ISOs are there only for new installs.

Ubuntu 16.04 is an LTS (Long Term Support) version, which means that it will receive five years of support from Canonical with software updates and security patches released regularly, so we recommend that you use this version rather than older ones. Some of the official flavors will get only three years of support, through.

Official Ubuntu flavors are also launching today

Talking about official Ubuntu flavors, today you'll also be able to download the final releases of Kubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu MATE 16.04, Xubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu Kylin 16.04, Ubuntu GNOME 16.04, Ubuntu Studio 16.04, Lubuntu 16.04, as well as Mythbuntu 16.04. For some of them, we'll have separate announcements on the website later today.

Most of the new features in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) have been revealed to the public during the past few weeks and months, but we'll try to compile a list of the most important ones as part of the official announcement. We think that kind of sums it up, don't panic, and stay tuned for our latest news for the announcements, which should happen starting noon UTC.