14 DAY TRIAL // Just a few minutes ago, Linux Mint project leader Clement Lefebvre announced the codename of the next Linux Mint release, versioned 18.1, along with a bit of information regarding its release date and upgrade possibility from previous versions.
If you're reading the news lately, most probably you are already aware of the fact that the next Linux Mint release will be Linux Mint 18.1, as we've published a few stories here on this space about some of its upcoming features, such as the highly anticipated Cinnamon 3.2 desktop environment.
So right now, Clement Lefebvre codenamed Linux Mint 18.1 as "Serena" because, after all, it's a major release of the GNU/Linux distribution, with new features and lots of upgraded internals. However, Linux Mint 18.1 remains based on the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) operating system and will be supported until the year 2021.
And it looks like if you're running the Linux Mint 18 "Sarah" operating system on your personal computer, upgrading to the Linux Mint 18.1 "Serena" release will be as easy as pie, as the entire upgrade process will be performed almost automatically through the Update Manager in-house built tool.
"The second release in the Linux Mint 18.x series will be named 'Serena',' said Clement Lefebvre. "Linux Mint 18.1 is estimated to be released around November/December 2016 and will be supported until 2021. Linux Mint 18 users will have the ability to upgrade."
Linux Mint 18.1 to ship with Flatpak and Snap support
On this occasion, we'd like to remind the reader that, apart from shipping with the Cinnamon 3.2 desktop environment, which promises to enable sounds for system notifications, add a new screensaver written from scratch, add an improved Clock applet, better accelerometers, and support for vertical panels, Linux Mint 18.1 will ship with support for installing standalone, universal Flatpak and Snap packages.
Of course, MATE fans will be glad to hear that the MATE 1.16 desktop environment is shipping as well in the new Linux Mint 18.1 "Serena" release, which should also bring updated X-Apps with many new features, including screen blanking, as well as HiDPI support for more apps. Many other under-the-hood improvements will be present as well in Linux Mint 18.1, which could launch in the next few weeks.