Linux Mint’s development team has announced enhancements for the upcoming Linux Mint 22.2, which will feature the Hardware Enablement (HWE) Linux 6.11 kernel sourced from Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS.
In a recent newsletter, Clement Lefebvre, the leader of Linux Mint, highlighted that there will not be an EDGE release for the 22.x series. Instead, the focus is on delivering a revamped Cinnamon application launcher. Although the specific release date for the redesigned launcher hasn’t been confirmed, it is expected to debut alongside the forthcoming Cinnamon 6.6.
The new application launcher will present a significantly improved side panel, which will not only show full names for pinned applications like Firefox and System Settings but will also include standard home folders. Additionally, buttons for screen lock, logout, and shutdown have been relocated from the side panel to the bottom of the app browser, while the panel will now display the user’s name and avatar.
Users can look forward to experiencing the redesigned Cinnamon app menu in Linux Mint 22.2, and it will also be available for other distributions utilizing the latest Cinnamon desktop environment.
For more updates, check out the February 2025 monthly newsletter and details on Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS.