Ubuntu Kylin could join them as well soon

May 10, 2018 10:18 GMT  ·  By

Ubuntu developers Bryan and Simon Quigley wrote a proposal for the rest of the official Ubuntu flavors to drop 32-bit (i386) support for new installations starting with the upcoming Ubuntu 18.10 (Cosmic Cuttlefish) release.

As you know, at the very beginning of the Ubuntu 18.10 cycle, maintainers of the Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Budgie, and Ubuntu Studio official flavors have decided to no longer support 32-bit ISO images. But now it looks like Lubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Ubuntu Kylin might be joining them soon.

"With Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Budgie, and Ubuntu Studio joining Ubuntu Desktop and Server in not offering i386 support in order to focus their efforts, and these statistics in mind, we (flavors) should all join them," said Bryan Quigley. "Now is the ideal time to do so."

Why are Ubuntu flavors dropping 32-bit support?

The decision for the rest of the official Ubuntu flavors to drop the i386 (32-bit) port is an effort of the Ubuntu community and it's based on some recent statistics collected by them. These show that most of the users using 32-bit versions of any Ubuntu flavor is running them on 64-bit (amd64) capable hardware.

Also, it would appear that machines running a 32-bit (i386) *buntu operating system on a amd64 capable computer is vulnerable to the critical Meltdown security vulnerability. According to Bryan Quigley, this wouldn't be if they were using a 64-bit (amd64) *buntu operating system, though some i386 hardware isn't vulnerable at all.

Right now, the idea for the rest of the official Ubuntu flavors to drop 32-bit support for new installations is just a simple proposal, and besides the Lubuntu maintainers, the Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Ubuntu Kylin maintainers did not express their support for this proposal at the moment of writing.

We reached out to both Lubuntu and Kubuntu maintainers and will update this story when we learn more. Meanwhile, users shouldn't be worried because Ubuntu 18.04 LTS was just released and will be supported for 3 years on all official flavors for 32-bit and 64-bit hardware.

Update 11:43pm: Kubuntu developer Rik Mills confirms that 32-bit (i386) ISO images will no longer be produced for Kubuntu 18.10 onwards. Lubuntu's Simon Quigley has also confirmed to us that Lubuntu 18.10 won't be released with a 32-bit install media, but only a 64-bit ISO image. We are waiting for Xubuntu and Ubuntu Kylin to confirm too.

Update 14/05/2018: Lubuntu developer Simon Quigley told us that the Lubuntu Team is still evaluating the removal of the 32-bit install media from the upcoming Lubuntu 18.10 release. We'll update you according if they change their minds in this regard and continue to pursue a future Lubuntu release only for 64-bit computers. Kubuntu on the other hand will drop support for new 32-bit installations starting with Kubuntu 18.10, joining Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Studio, and Ubuntu Kylin.