Canonical has launched the beta version of Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing Quokka), inviting users to participate in public testing ahead of the final release scheduled for October 9, 2025.
Ubuntu 25.10 is built on the new Linux 6.17 kernel and showcases the recently unveiled GNOME 49 desktop environment. This release brings several significant updates, including the switch to sudo-rs as the default sudo implementation and Dracut as the primary initramfs-tools. Notable features include the Chrony NTP client, support for NVIDIA Dynamic Boost for enhanced gaming performance, and TPM-backed Full Disk Encryption management.
Among the updated applications, GNOME’s Loupe has replaced Eye of GNOME as the default image viewer, while Ptyxis has taken over as the new terminal emulator instead of GNOME Terminal. The rest of the standard Ubuntu applications remain unchanged.
Another noteworthy addition is Ubuntu Insights, which replaces the older Ubuntu Report. This new feature offers users greater control over the system metrics shared with Canonical, although the data collection is opt-in and does not carry over consent from previous versions.
Under the hood, the toolchain for Ubuntu 25.10 has been upgraded, featuring GCC 15.2, GNU C Library 2.42, and LLVM 20 among others. This beta version also includes the latest Mesa 25.2 graphics stack for improved performance.
For those eager to explore the new features, the beta version of Ubuntu 25.10 can be downloaded from the official website. However, users are advised to refrain from using this pre-release version in production environments as it is still undergoing testing. The complete release will be available in early October, with numerous flavors such as Ubuntu Desktop, Server, Cloud, Edubuntu, and more.
For further insights and updates related to this release, consider checking the relevant articles on Linux Kernel 6.17 and GNOME 49.