Ubuntu MATE

Official flavor of Ubuntu with the MATE desktop environment

Linux distribution

Ubuntu MATE

Ubuntu MATE 25.04 "Plucky Pluffin"

Developer| Ubuntu MATE team
OS family| Linux (Unix-like)
Working state| Current
Source model| Open source
Initial release| 23 October 2014; 10 years ago (2014-10-23)
Latest release| 25.04 "Plucky Puffin" / 17 April 2025; 52 days ago (2025-04-17) [1]
Available in| Multilingual
Update method| APT (Software Updater, Ubuntu Software Center)
Package manager| dpkg
Platforms| IA-32 (defunct), x86-64, PowerPC, ARM
Kernel type| Monolithic
Userland| GNU
Default
user interface| MATE
License| Free software licenses
(mainly GPL)
Official website| ubuntu-mate.org

Ubuntu MATE is a free and open-source Linux distribution and an official derivative of Ubuntu. Its main differentiation from Ubuntu is that it uses the MATE desktop environment as its default user interface (based on GNOME 2), instead of the GNOME 3 desktop environment that is the default user interface for Ubuntu.[2][3]

## History

[edit]

The Ubuntu MATE project was founded by Martin Wimpress and Alan Pope[4] and began as an unofficial derivative of Ubuntu, using an Ubuntu 14.10 base for its first release;[5] a 14.04 LTS release followed shortly.[6] As of February 2015, Ubuntu MATE gained the official Ubuntu flavour status from Canonical as per the release of 15.04 Beta 1.[7][8] In addition to IA-32 and x86-64 which were the initial supported platforms, Ubuntu MATE also supports PowerPC and ARMv7 (on the Raspberry Pi 2 and 3[9] as well as the ODROID XU4[10]).

In April 2015, Ubuntu MATE announced a partnership with British computer reseller Entroware, enabling Entroware customers to purchase laptop and desktop computers with Ubuntu MATE preinstalled with full support.[11] Several other hardware deals were announced later.

In Ubuntu MATE 18.10, 32-bit support was dropped.[12]

## Releases

[edit]

Current release  | Release no longer supported  | Release still supported  | Future release

|
|
|

Version  | Codename  | Release date  | Supported until  | Remarks

|
|
|
|

14.04 LTS  | Trusty Tahr | 2014-11-11  | April 2019  | Released after the 14.10 release in order to provide long-term support until 2019, following Ubuntu.[6]
14.10[13] | Utopic Unicorn | 2014-10-23  | July 2015  | First release of Ubuntu MATE.[5]
15.04  | Vivid Vervet | 2015-04-23[14] | January 2016  | First release as an official Ubuntu flavour.[2]
15.10[15] | Wily Werewolf | 2015-10-22[16] | July 2016  | Features MATE 1.10, Ubuntu Software Center not installed by default.[17]
16.04 LTS  | Xenial Xerus | 2016-04-21  | April 2019[18] | First official LTS release; features MATE 1.12.x DE, expanded Welcome application and Software Boutique; has ZFS built-in by default.[19][20]
16.10  | Yakkety Yak | 2016-10-13[21] | July 2017  | Full GTK3+ implementation of the MATE Desktop. Most default applications are "Recommended" and can thus be uninstalled without issue.[22]
17.04  | Zesty Zapus | 2017-04-13  | January 2018  | Concluded the migration to GTK3+.[23]
17.10[24] | Artful Aardvark | 2017-10-19  | July 2018  | 17.10.1, was released on 12 January 2018. It fixed a problem that corrupted the UEFI & BIOS firmware.[25]
18.04 LTS[26][27][28][29] | Bionic Beaver | 2018-04-26  | April 2021  | It includes support for GPD Pocket & Pocket 2, Raspberry Pi B2/B3/B3+.[30][31][32]
18.10[33][34][35] | Cosmic Cuttlefish | 2018-10-18  | July 2019  | First non-LTS 64-bit-only release, end of 32-bit support. Features MATE 1.20.[36][37][38]
19.04  | Disco Dingo | 2019-04-18  | January 2020  | Features MATE 1.20 and Nvidia drivers.[39]
19.10  | Eoan Ermine | 2019-10-17  | July 2020  | Non-LTS 64-bit-only release. Features MATE 1.22.2 and replaces VLC media player with GNOME mpv as default media player software.[40]
20.04 LTS  | Focal Fossa | 2020-04-23  | April 2023[41] | Features MATE 1.24.[42]
20.10  | Groovy Gorilla | 2020-10-22  | July 2021  | Features MATE 1.24.1.[43]
21.04  | Hirsute Hippo | 2021-04-22  | January 2022  | 64-bit-only. Features MATE 1.24.2.[44]
21.10  | Impish Indri | 2021-10-14  | July 2022  | Features MATE 1.26.[45]
22.04 LTS  | Jammy Jellyfish | 2022-04-21  | April 2027  | Features MATE 1.26.1.[46]
22.10  | Kinetic Kudu | 2022-10-20  | July 2023  | PipeWire replaces PulseAudio, and MATE 1.26.1 includes some backported features from the unreleased 1.28 version
23.04[47][48] | Lunar Lobster | 2023-04-20  | January 2024  |
23.10[49] | Mantic Minotaur | 2023-10-12  | July 2024  |
24.04 LTS  | Noble Numbat | 2024-04-25  | May 2029  | Current LTS release.
24.10  | Oracular Oriole | 2024-10-10  | July 2025  | Current interim release

## Reception

[edit]

In a May 2016 review Jesse Smith of DistroWatch concluded, "despite my initial problems getting Ubuntu MATE installed and running smoothly, I came away with a positive view of the distribution. The project is providing a very friendly desktop experience that requires few hardware resources by modern standards. I also want to tip my hat to the default theme used on Ubuntu MATE."[50]

Dedoimedo reviewed Ubuntu MATE in July 2018, and wrote that "[Ubuntu MATE offers] a wealth of visual and functional changes…You really have the ability to implement anything and everything, and all of it natively, from within the system's interface".[51]

Starting with the 22.04 LTS release, Ubuntu MATE included AI-generated wallpapers. These were warmly received by popular tech blogs, with OMG! Ubuntu exclaiming "I'm blown away by the quality of this AI-produced artwork"[52] for the 22.04 release, and IT's FOSS News proclaiming the "beautiful" wallpapers were "a big highlight" of the 22.10 release".[53]

## See also

[edit]

* Comparison of Linux distributions
* GTK
* Linux Mint
* MATE
* Ubuntu Budgie
* Ubuntu Unity
* Xubuntu

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 24.10 Release Notes". ubuntu-mate.org. 2025-04-17. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
2. ^ a b "UbuntuFlavours - Ubuntu Wiki".
3. ^ Nestor, Marius (Apr 19, 2017). "Canonical to Make GNOME Default Session in Ubuntu 17.10, Likely Use Wayland". Softpedia. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
4. ^ "Team - Ubuntu MATE".
5. ^ a b "Ubuntu MATE Sees Its First Release (14.10)". 23 October 2014.
6. ^ a b "Ubuntu MATE 14.04 LTS Available For Download". 12 November 2014.
7. ^ Sneddon, Joey-Ellijah (26 February 2015). "Ubuntu MATE Is Now An Official Ubuntu Flavor". omgubuntu.co.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
8. ^ "GNOME 2 is back: Ubuntu MATE is now an official flavor".
9. ^ "Download Ubuntu MATE". Ubuntu MATE. Ubuntu MATE Team. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
10. ^ "Release Note of Ubuntu MATE 18.04 LTS (v4.0)". Ubuntu MATE For XU4. HardKernel. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
11. ^ "Ubuntu MATE Inks First Hardware Deal". 10 April 2015.
12. ^ "Dropping 32-bit support". DistroWatch.
13. ^ "First Impressions of Ubuntu MATE 14.10". DistroWatch.
14. ^ "VividVervet/ReleaseSchedule".
15. ^ "Ubuntu 15.10 MATE - The wolf that cried sheep". Dedoimedo. November 28, 2015.
16. ^ "WilyWerewolf/ReleaseSchedule".
17. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 15.10 Officially Released with a Huge Number of Improvements". Softpedia. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
18. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 16.04 (Xenial Xerus) Will Be an LTS Release, Supported for 3 Years". 18 April 2016.
19. ^ Larabel, Michael. "Taking ZFS For A Test Drive On Ubuntu 16.04 LTS". phoronix.com. Phoronix Media. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
20. ^ "How to install ubuntu mate onto single sdd with zfs as main fs". Ubuntu MATE. ubuntu-mate.community. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
21. ^ "YakketyYak/ReleaseSchedule - Ubuntu Wiki". Retrieved 28 April 2016.
22. ^ Wimpress, Martin (2016-10-13). "Ubuntu MATE 16.10". Ubuntu MATE. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
23. ^ Wimpress, Martin (2017-04-13). "Ubuntu MATE 17.04". Ubuntu MATE. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
24. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 17.10". Di stroWatch.
25. ^ Wimpress, Martin (2017-10-19). "Ubuntu MATE 17.10". Ubuntu MATE. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
26. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 18.04 LTS: What's New?". OMG! Ubuntu!.
27. ^ Nestor, Marius (March 18, 2018). "Ubuntu MATE 18.04 LTS Will Ship with a New Default Layout Called "Familiar"". Softpedia News.
28. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 18.04 Bionic Beaver - Medium-well". Dedoimedo.
29. ^ "Ubuntu 18.04 – MATE and Budgie editions". DistroWatch.
30. ^ Wimpress, Martin (9 March 2018). "Ubuntu MATE 18.04 Beta 1". Ubuntu MATE.
31. ^ Wimpress, Martin (5 April 2018). "Ubuntu MATE 18.04 Beta 2". Ubuntu MATE.
32. ^ Wimpress, Martin (26 April 2018). "Ubuntu MATE 18.04 LTS Final Release". Ubuntu MATE.
33. ^ "Ubuntu 18.10 Flavors Released, Ready to Download". OMG! Ubuntu!.
34. ^ Nestor, Marius (May 4, 2018). "Ubuntu MATE 18.10 Will Drop 32-Bit Support for New Installations". Softpedia News.
35. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 18.10". DistroWatch.
36. ^ Wimpress, Martin (27 September 2018). "Ubuntu MATE 18.10 Beta". Ubuntu MATE.
37. ^ Wimpress, Martin (18 October 2018). "Ubuntu MATE 18.10 Final Release". Ubuntu MATE.
38. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 18.10 is Now Available for the GPD Pocket Laptop". OMG! Ubuntu!. 19 October 2018.
39. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 19.04 Final Release | Ubuntu MATE".
40. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 19.10 Release Notes".
41. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 20.04 LTS reaches end of life".
42. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 20.04 Release Notes".
43. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 20.10 Release Notes". Retrieved 23 October 2020.
44. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 21.04 Release Notes".
45. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 21.10 Release Notes".
46. ^ Team, Ubuntu MATE. "Ubuntu MATE 22.04 LTS Release Notes". Ubuntu MATE. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
47. ^ "Lunar Lobster Release Schedule". Ubuntu Community Hub. 2022-11-22. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
48. ^ Team, Ubuntu MATE. "Ubuntu MATE 23.04 Release Notes". Ubuntu MATE. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
49. ^ Team, Ubuntu MATE. "Ubuntu MATE 23.10 Release Notes". Ubuntu MATE. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
50. ^ Smith, Jesse (9 May 2016). "Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS". DistroWatch. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
51. ^ "Ubuntu MATE - Pimp your desktop to perfection". www.dedoimedo.com. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
52. ^ "These AI-Made Ubuntu Mascot Artworks are Incredible". OMG! Ubuntu. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
53. ^ "Ubuntu MATE 22.10 Release Has Some Interesting Upgrades!". ITS FOSS. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-25.

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