Six months after the development of Ubuntu 19.04 release, it is now available for download. We will take a look in this article about the new features of Ubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo.
But first things first: how do you get it?
If you want to download Ubuntu 19.04 right now, you can: just skip on down to the download section of this post to snag yourself a minty-fresh ISO.
You can also upgrade to Ubuntu 19.04 from 18.10 without reinstalling. Just wait for the ‘upgrade prompt’ to appear on your desktop (sometime after April 18) or force an upgrade by using the command in the linked guide.
Regardless of the way in which you get it, chances are you’ll want to know what’s new and what’s changed once you have, so keep reading to learn more!
See also: How to Deploy WordPress on Ubuntu
Ubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo
The Ubuntu 19.04 release date is April 18, 2019. Daily builds became available in November 2018, while the first Ubuntu 19.04 beta released on March 28.
Other milestones during “Disco Dingo” development included feature freeze on February 21, 2019, UI freeze on March 14, 2019, and kernel freeze on April 1, 2019.
Despite the name, Ubuntu 19.04 is more of a mid-afternoon tea dance than a raucous disco. That’s not a negative per se, it’s just that this release feels more like a familiar, choreographed, routine update, rather than trying to throw shapes on the distro dance floor.
But with a lighter, more responsive feel, the latest software, and a new Linux kernel, this newest version of Ubuntu has lot to tempt you with.
Changes in brief:
- Performance improvements
- ‘Safe Graphics Mode’ option
- Updated icon theme
- Fractional Scaling Support
- Star files in Nautilus
- GNOME Shell 3.32
- Linux kernel 5.0
- Desktop icons extension
- Geoclue integration
- New wallpaper
Improved Performance
Ubuntu 19.04 is the fourth version of Ubuntu to ship with the GNOME Shell desktop, but the first version to actually feel like the switch was worth it!
Don’t get me wrong: I love the GNOME Shell workflow, the UI, the UX. It runs great on Fedora, Arch and Manjaro (or so I’m told).
But until now, Ubuntu’s implementation of the GNOME Shell desktop has handled like an underwater level in Sonic the Hedgehog, i.e. prettysluggish.
Thankfully the treacle-footed feeling afflicting earlier versions is gone in the Disco Dingo. Here, the Ubuntu desktop finally feels as fast and as fluid as it did during the late Unity desktop days.
The uptick is the result of work by both upstream and downstream developers. Memory enhancements, CPU optimisations, and animation tweaks combine to make an Ubuntu desktop experience that feels infinitely more responsive.
Improved performance is what defines the ‘Disco Dingo’, so if you only take one thing away from reading this post, let it be this.
Linux Kernel 5.0
Ubuntu 19.04 ships with the Linux 5.0 kernel release.
To quote our own post on its release, this kernel version comes with ‘a bucket full of improvements’. Support for AMD FreeSync, Raspberry Pi touchscreens, and Adiantum encryption sit among the highlights.
Mesa 19.0 is available out of the box in 19.04. This is the latest development release of the popular open-source graphics driver and ensures those of you using compatible graphics cards get the best performance on Linux.
If you use a machine with an NVIDIA graphics card you now have the option to install proprietary NVIDIA graphics drivers during installation. No, it’s not essential, but it certainly helps cut down on the amount of post-install things-to-do.
Similarly, those who choose to install Ubuntu 19.04 in a VMware virtual machine will be pleased to hear that (where detected) the open-vm-tools package is installed as part of the install process.
Finally, since we’re on the subject of graphics drivers, keep an eye out for the new ‘safe graphics mode’ option in the Grub menu. Choosing this will boot Ubuntu with “NOMODESET” turned on. If you’re having issues with graphics cards or graphics drivers this mode will prove invaluable.
Desktop Improvements
Shipping the latest GNOME 3.32 release delivers a wealth of improvements to the fore. Features like night-light intensity control, rounded user avatars, faster Google Drive access, and advanced application permission are ready to play with from the get-go.
The new version of Nautilus included supports file favouriting.
To favourite a file just select it, right click, and choose the “Star” option.
You can quickly view all your starred files by selecting the ‘Starred’ bookmark in the file manager sidebar.
Icons
The Disco Dingo features a new background wallpaper and an updated Yaru GTK & icon theme.
The Yaru icon set switches from the uniform ‘squircle’ shape for a liberal mix of icon shapes. This might not sound like a big deal but it makes a massive improvement to the look of the apps screen, which now has a cohesive and consistent appearance to it.
On the subject of icons, the new upstream Adwaita icon set is available to install from the 19.04 repos (should you want to try it out). Just open a Terminal window and run sudo apt install adwaita-icon-theme and switch icon theme using the Tweaks tool.
Download Ubuntu 19.04
You can download Ubuntu 19.04 desktop as a 64-bit .ISO image by hitting the button below:
Final Thoughts: Ubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo
The new Ubuntu version surely offers wider features than before. When it comes to facade, there’s not much that had changed.
How about you? Have you tried Ubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo yet? How’s your experience? We would be glad to know, please do comment down below.
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