14 DAY TRIAL // Ubuntu 18.04 is now available for download from the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 as part of the WSL push that allows users to run Linux on top of Windows.
Officially announced earlier this month, version 18.04 is the second Ubuntu release published in the Microsoft Store, and it will be offered alongside Ubuntu 16.04. Both will continue to be available for download for Windows 10 users who want to run them in the Windows Subsystem for Linux, and Microsoft engineer Tara Raj says it’s because of the long-term support offered by Canonical.
In other words, as long as an Ubuntu version gets support from Canonical, it would continue to be offered in the Microsoft Store.
“The Ubuntu apps you see in the Store are published by Canonical. We partner with them to release the apps and test them on WSL. As per Canonical's LTS schedule, both Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 are supported for 3 years. Keeping this overlap in support in mind, ‘Ubuntu’ is still 16.04 and ‘Ubuntu 18.04’ is as named. We will be Updating the Store descriptions and such shortly,” Tara Raj explains.
Windows 10 ARM already supported
You can also install both Ubuntu version and run them side by side in the Windows Subsystem for Linux with no compatibility issues to be experienced whatsoever.
Ubuntu 18.04 can be installed on the Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10 ARM devices as well. The ARM version of Windows 10 was specifically developed for chipsets like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon lineup.
No further tweaks are required, and it’s enough to simply download Ubuntu 18.04 from the Microsoft Store on an ARM device. Windows 10 will automatically send ARM download instructions, and Ubuntu would be downloaded correctly on each device.
Windows 10 with S Mode enabled, previously known as Windows 10 S, can’t install Ubuntu 18.04 from the Microsoft Store.