Canonical is gearing up to introduce a fully functional desktop session for the RISC-V architecture with the upcoming Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing Quokka) release. This development comes on the heels of Canonical’s recent decision to limit support for various RISC-V hardware, raising the required RISC-V ISA profile family from RVA20 to RVA23. As a result, nearly 90% of existing RISC-V devices will be unable to run Ubuntu 25.10.
The ratification of the RVA23 profile standard by RISC-V International in October 2024 will enhance compatibility across RISC-V implementations and add a hypervisor extension for virtualization. This change is expected to support advanced workloads in enterprise servers and cloud applications, alongside a new Vector extension aimed at accelerating math-intensive tasks such as AI and cryptography.
With this upgrade, Canonical plans to ensure seamless operation of essential applications like Firefox and Thunderbird in the desktop environment, which remains Ubuntu’s default browser and email client. The new release will include a detection mechanism to identify if RISC-V hardware supports the RVA23 profile, limiting Ubuntu upgrades for incompatible systems to the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS version.
In addition to RISC-V improvements, Ubuntu 25.10 will enhance the Wayland experience for NVIDIA GPU users, offer fully functional support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) on compatible monitors, and implement TPM-backed Full Disk Encryption. Other features include streamlined administrative tools and increased accessibility compliance.
The beta version of Ubuntu 25.10 is slated for release on September 18, with a final launch expected on October 9, 2025. The update will be powered by the Linux kernel 6.17 and will utilize the new GNOME 49 desktop environment, which will introduce additional applications and functionalities.
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