14 DAY TRIAL // After unwrapping the Ubuntu 18.10 (Cosmic Cuttlefish) release, Canonical is now kicking off the development cycle of the next major release, Ubuntu 19.04, due in spring 2019.
Even though Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth is no longer naming new Ubuntu releases, the development team already codenamed the forthcoming Ubuntu 19.04 release of the Linux-based operating system and published a draft release schedule.
Ubuntu 19.04 is dubbed the "Disco Dingo," and it will be released on April 18, 2019. The development cycle was kicked off officially on October 25, 2018, with the toolchain upload. Three "Ubuntu Testing Weeks" are scheduled for January 3, 31, and February 28, 2019.
Ubuntu 19.04 beta expected on March 28, 2019
Ubuntu 19.04 continues the tradition of dropping the Alpha milestones and stick to only one Beta release during the entire development cycle. Ubuntu 18.10 (Cosmic Cuttlefish) was the first release of the Linux-based OS to officially adopt this new development strategy.
As such, the Ubuntu 19.04 beta is expected to hit the streets on March 28, 2019. This will be the only official build of the operating system offered for public testing. After that, the Kernel Freeze stage is set for April 4, and the Final Freeze stage for April 11, a few days before the final release on April 18, 2019.
For now, there's no word on what new features the Ubuntu 19.04 (Disco Dingo) release will include, but we already know that it will ship with the upcoming GNOME 3.32 desktop environment, due for release on March 13, 2019, and will be powered by the latest Linux kernel that will be available next spring, probably Linux 5.0.
As usual, we'll try to keep you guys up-to-date with the development cycle of the Ubuntu 19.04 (Disco Dingo) operating system series during the next six months. However, Ubuntu 19.04 will be a short-lived branch supported by Canonical with software and security updates for only nine months, until July 2020.