Ubuntu 26.10 Release Progress and 28.04 LTS Outlook
Ubuntu 26.10 Stonking Stingray was released on October 15, 2026. Development milestones are retained below; see the 26.10 overview for current downloads and upgrade advice.
Release Milestones
| Milestone | Date | Status as of October 18 |
|---|---|---|
| Feature freeze | 2026-08-20 | Scheduled date has passed |
| UI freeze | 2026-09-10 | Scheduled date has passed |
| Beta | Planned 2026-09-24; actual 2026-10-01 | Released |
| Final freeze | 2026-10-08 | Completed before final release |
| Final release | 2026-10-15 | Released |
| End of support | July 2027 | Interim release with nine months of support |
Sources: official schedule , beta announcement , support period . A passed schedule date is not evidence of published final images.
Recent Developments
October 12 Myna Technology Preview
Myna has moved from the early roadmap to an installable technology preview, also covering 24.04 and 26.04 LTS. Users can evaluate local dictation on an existing LTS installation. See the Myna guide and official announcement for supported environments and feature boundaries.
October 6 Confirmed Security Changes
Canonical described signed GRUB reductions (see the source-status caveat in the inspection guide), the completed default Rust coreutils transition and the switch to dbus-broker. Special Secure Boot layouts need inspection; older proposal-stage reports no longer establish the current status. Official security overview , /boot inspection guide.
October 15 Final Release
Final images are available, retaining the 7.3.0-9.9 / 7.3-rc6 kernel baseline. Distribution GA does not imply upstream kernel GA. Check known issues before upgrading. Release announcement
Reading Recent Coverage
| Coverage | Questions it helps answer |
|---|---|
| OMG! Ubuntu beta overview | Desktop changes at the beta milestone |
| OMG! Ubuntu Secure Boot explanation | Boot layouts that need inspection |
| Phoronix EPYC comparison | Performance differences on particular server workloads |
Read benchmarks with their hardware, configuration and workload conditions. They do not establish a uniform improvement on every computer. Live USB and application testing are more useful for checking your own device.
What to Watch before 28.04 LTS
Canonical uses interim releases to evaluate substantial changes before the next LTS. Watch compatibility of new default components, boot and encryption designs, enterprise identity integration, and Myna’s language coverage and application behavior. Official discussion of the next LTS .
These directions do not promise 28.04 defaults. Desktop and kernel versions, and whether Myna will be preinstalled, require that release’s official roadmap and release notes.
For a long-lived environment, keep 26.04 LTS. Before switching release channels, read 26.10 or LTS.