And we’re off – the Linux Mint 22 beta release is now available to download.
The beta of Linux Mint 22 ‘Wilma’ arrives ahead of an expected stable release in late July or possibly early August, depending on how many bugs, issues, and quirks are found and fixed during the formal beta testing period.
Linux Mint 22 is a sizeable update. It’s the first version to be based on top of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and inherits all of the foundational goodies that release provides. This includes the Linux 6.8 kernel, updated graphics drivers, and PipeWire as default sound server.
But Linux Mint adds plenty of its own ‘spice’ on top, including its own desktop environment Cinnamon, a suite of core apps (newer versions than those in the noble archives), and a variety of other changes.
New features in Cinnamon 6.2, which is the default desktop of Linux Mint 22 (MATE and Xfce versions are also available, for those who’d prefer them):
- Search bar shows by default when adding to Startup Applications
- New screen lock delay options: 5 & 10 seconds
- Workspace Switcher supports removing workspace with middle click
- Cinnamon Spices now support configurable keybindings
- Keybindings now searchable (in keyboard shortcuts editor)
- User applet supports showing user profile pic on panel
- Cinnamon sessions now have greeter badges
- Mint Menu gains a ‘Science’ category
- Cornerbar applet makes click actions configurable
- OSK picks up a button to dismiss the OSK
- Active VPN connections append padlock to network icons
Core apps in Linux Mint 22 gain new features and/or improvements:
- Nemo gains a new layout editor, and submenus for actions
- Matrix web app (Element) added to default install
- Software Manager hides unverified Flathub apps by default
- Warpinator now has a ‘restart’ item in the menu
- Pix now supports JXL images
- Sticky notes lets you set default screen position
- Time Shift backup now shows confirmation dialog on delete
- Xed text editor gains keyboard shortcut to toggle minimap
- Redshift removed (due to Mozilla location service deprecation)
Additionally, Thunderbird is now packaged by the Linux Mint team as a DEB package. This is because Ubuntu switched to a Thunderbird snap and made the Thunderbird DEB in the repo a transition package which installs the snap (and snapd).
Downgrades result in mix of app versions in Linux Mint 22
Many default apps have been downgraded to older, GTK3 versions or the last ‘good’ version retained. This is because many of the newer versions present in the Ubuntu 24.04 repos make use of GTK4/libadwaita (which Linux Mint isn’t enamoured with).
Among the apps downgraded, Celluloid, GNOME Calculator, Simple Scan, Disk Usage Analyser, System Monitor, GNOME Calendar, and File Roller.
Web apps created using the Web App Manager use Firefox (as before) but these apps now hide the toolbar and menu bar by default. They’ll reappear as/if/when needed, such as opening a link in a web app in a new tab.
General changes in Linux Mint 22 include:
- Guest sessions disabled by default
- PipeWire is now the default sound server
- Less disk space used for translations
- Default touchpad driver is now libinput
- New wallpapers
- Shutdown timeout is reduced to 10 seconds
- Slick Greeter supports cursor scaling for HiDPI displays
- Standalone GNOME Online Accounts app
And a bunch of lower-level bug fixes, stability improvements, and performance tweaks are (as you’d expected) included as part of this update. But those ‘invisible changes’ aside, the list above covers the user-facing new features in Linux Mint 22.
Download Linux Mint 22 Beta
You can download Linux Mint 22 beta from any of the distribution’s official mirrors, e.g., here, as an ISO. You can flash the ISO to a USB drive, burn it to a DVD (old school, heh), or boot it directly in virtual machine software.
As this is a beta release, it is intended for testing purposes only. It may contain bugs, and no formal support for broken features is provided.
Those testing should report bugs with Linux Mint 22 on the dedicated Github page (but do not file bugs related to Wayland there).
No one is advised to make a beta release their default OS, but many do. Anyone using the beta will be able to “upgrade” to the final, stable Linux Mint 22 release by installing updates.
Similarly, once the final release arrives, users of Linux Mint 21.3 will be able to upgrade to Linux Mint 22. However, as this upgrade is a major one, the upgrade channel may not be “live” right away.
The final release of Linux Mint 22 will be supported with security updates until 2029, and work on the next major version, Linux Mint 23, won’t take place until 2026 — Linux Mint 22.1, 22.2, and 22.3 will all be based on Ubuntu 2404 LTS.