Ubuntu has recently released version 25.04, codenamed “Plucky Puffin.” This distribution is considered an intermediate release, with updates available for 9 months. Installation images are available for Ubuntu, Ubuntu Server, Lubuntu, Kubuntu, Ubuntu Mate, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Studio, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Kylin (China), Ubuntu Unity, Edubuntu, and Ubuntu Cinnamon.
The main changes in this release include updates to the desktop before the GNOME 48 release, which now supports HDR, triple buffering, a glass layout of notifications, and global keyboards. The configurator has been expanded to include memory consumption and performance enhancements.
Instead of Evince, the default program for viewing PDFs in Ubuntu Desktop is now Papers, a fork of Evince transferred to GTK4 and partially rewritten in Rust.
Furthermore, the default binding now includes xdg-terminal-exec, simplifying the replacement of the emulator triggered by the Ctrl+Alt+T key combination.
With the closure of the Mozilla Location Service project, location determination services are now using the BeaconDB database, which contains information about the locations of well-known wireless access points.
Other changes include the disabling of sound accompaniment during system startup and the addition of a mode for replacing existing Ubuntu installations in the installer for Ubuntu Desktop. This mode allows for installation on encrypted partitions, expanded settings for disk partitions, and the ability to install Ubuntu on a drive alongside Windows systems using encrypted BitLocker.