Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS Released with Linux Kernel 5.15 LTS from Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS

Canonical released today Ubuntu 20.04.5 as the fifth and last planned point release to its long-term supported Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) operating system series.

Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS is here a little over six months after the release of Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS, which shipped with the Linux 5.13 kernel and Mesa 21.2 graphics stack from the now obsolete Ubuntu 21.10 (Impish Indri) release.

Since the Ubuntu 20.04.4 point release is already considered outdated, Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS is here to offer those who want to deploy the long-term supported Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) operating system on new computers a fresh installation medium that’s powered by the Linux 5.15 LTS kernel from Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

Existing Ubuntu 20.04 LTS users already received the Linux 5.15 LTS kernel upgrade last month if they used the HWE (Hardware Enablement) kernel flavor, so you don’t have to download the 20.04.5 image to enjoy the better hardware support and other updated components.

Unfortunately, there’s some bad news for gamers as Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS ships with the same Mesa 21.2.6 graphics stack that was available in the previous point release. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS comes with Mesa 22.0, but for some reason, it wasn’t ported to the Focal Fossa series.

As expected, Ubuntu 20.04.5 includes all the updates that have been released in the past six months through the official channels to provide you with an up-to-date installation media where you don’t have to download hundreds of updates from the repositories after the installation. Fortunately, you can rely on kisak’s PPA for the latest Mesa updates.

The Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) operating system series was released on April 23rd, 2020, and it’s a long-term supported release that will receive software and security updates for at least five years, until April 2025.

If you plan on installing Focal Fossa on new PCs, it is highly recommended to download the Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS images, which you can grab right now from the official website. Existing Ubuntu 20.04 LTS users need only to update their installations by running the sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade commands in the Terminal app.

Personally, I recommend installing Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) instead because it comes with the same kernel stack, but newer technologies and software packages, including the GNOME 40-series desktop environment rather than Focal Fossa’s obsolete GNOME 3.36 desktop environment.

Last updated 2 years ago

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