Ubuntu, the popular Debian-based Linux distribution, is about to unveil its latest release on April 22, 2021. Codenamed Hirsute Hippo, the 21.04 version is expected to launch with multiple enhancements to the previous version.
While the stable release is a few weeks away, Canonical has provided the public beta ISOs for enthusiasts to get their hands on the latest Ubuntu software prior to the final stable build. Here's a guide on how you could run Ubuntu 21.04 on your own machine and discover what's new.
How to Install Ubuntu 21.04
Want to try Ubuntu 21.04 for yourself? Here's a rundown of how to install it on your machine.
1. Download the Beta ISO
First, head on over to the releases page to download the latest beta ISO of Ubuntu 21.04 for your desktop or laptop. You can either opt for a direct download or use torrent to obtain the ISO.
Once done, you can optionally check the SHA256 hash of the downloaded file and match it with the hash provided by Canonical on the releases page to confirm that your download was indeed successful. Although this is not a mandatory step, it can be an extra layer of precaution to eliminate corrupt ISO file issues.
Read More: Free Hash Checkers to Check File Integrity
2. Burn the ISO onto a USB Stick
Now that you've downloaded the ISO, the next step is to create a bootable USB stick. For this, you can use a free tool such as balenaEtcher to flash the ISO onto your USB stick. For optimal performance, we encourage you to use a flash drive with at least 4GB of space and support for USB 3.0. However, USB 2.0 sticks will also work.
Now, follow the steps given below to flash the ISO onto the USB stick:
- Plug the USB stick into your computer. Make sure you take a backup of all the important data as the stick will be formatted.
- Click on the Flash from file option and select the downloaded Ubuntu 21.04 ISO file.
- Now, click on the Select target option and choose the USB drive.
- Click on the Flash button and wait for the process to finish. This might take a few minutes.
For more details, we have a dedicated guide on installing Ubuntu using a USB flash drive that you can check out.
3. Change the Boot Order
To boot into Ubuntu 21.04, you will need to change the boot order of your device so that it doesn't boot into the default operating system present in your hard drive. This can be done by accessing the BIOS or the dedicated boot order menu.
You can reach this screen by repeatedly pressing a variable function key. Once done, you will be greeted with a screen listing your hard drive and other connected storage. Scroll down to the USB drive and press enter to start booting via USB.
Since the function key varies as per the manufacturer, be sure to check for the appropriate key for your device. To assist you further, we have a guide on changing boot order which can be used to boot from the USB.
What's New and First Impressions
Ubuntu 21.04 Hirsute Hippo is the regular short-term release for 2021 and will be soon followed by the 21.10 release in October. After six months of fastidious development, the 21.04 release does not come with any major visual overhauls or performance changes. This update rather focuses on optimizing the existing software.
As the boot process is completed, you'll be greeted by a new wallpaper and system-wide dark theme in the usual GNOME 3 layout. Even though GNOME 40 was released a couple of weeks ago, Ubuntu has stuck to GNOME 3.38 for this release until the applications are updated to support the new GTK 4 that comes with GNOME 40. Here's a roundup of the major changes in this release:
1. Linux 5.11 Kernel
Hirsute Hippo comes with the latest Linux 5.11 kernel baked into it which enables better hardware support alongside filesystem updates.
This includes the support for Intel's Software Guard Extensions (SGX) that allows user-level code to allocate private regions of memory, called enclaves, which are designed to be protected from processes running at higher privilege levels. The newer kernel also brings better AMD performance and power-management support for AMD's Zen-based CPUs.
This kernel uplifts new mount options for the btrfs file system, the Ceph filesystem gains support for the “msgr2.1” protocol, and the F2FS filesystem picks up userspace control over compressed files.
2. Private Home Directories
The latest release addresses a security vulnerability that was reported years ago. The choice of default permissions for the user’s home directory was a trade-off between usability and security until the last update. Previously, all the sensitive data stored in the user's home directory was readable by other users who use the same system.
The 755 permission has now been updated to 750 permission instead which restricts the access of other users on the same system to read the files stored in other user's home directories. Only the logged-in user's own home directory can be readable in Ubuntu 21.04. However, this change is applicable only for fresh installations and is not applicable if you're upgrading from 20.10 to 21.04.
3. GNOME Shell Enhancements
Although Ubuntu has stuck to GNOME 3.38 for now, it packs in a bunch of enhancements for the desktop environment. The GNOME shell sports the dark theme by default this time around. The Yaru theme has been polished to provide a darker theme to contrast the accent color and modern, thinner icons.
Many of the preinstalled applications such as the disk usage analyzer, the Characters app, and GNOME Image Viewer have been updated to their newest version while other applications received the usual bug fixes and patches.
Non-GNOME applications like Firefox and Thunderbird have also been upgraded. The new desktop icons extension in the latest release enables support for drag and drop functionality from and to the other applications.
What Can We Expect in 21.10 Release?
Ever since the announcement of GNOME 40, there has been a lot of buzz around it. The modern user interface of GNOME 40 has gained a lot of love and popularity among Linux enthusiasts which led to a little bit of disappointment when Ubuntu decided to stick to the GNOME 3.38.
Ubuntu, being a distribution that is used by millions of users and servers, values stability over bleeding-edge technologies but we can surely expect GNOME 40 to make an appearance in the 21.10 updates that are expected to release in October 2021.