Ubuntu has been synonymous with Linux for a long time. There’s a good reason for that. Ubuntu is one of the easiest Linux distributions on the market, has incredible hardware detection, and has been based on Debian since the beginning.
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On April 17, the latest version of Ubuntu is set to be released. That version is 25.04, which is a short-term release. Short-term releases do not enjoy the lengthy support period as does their siblings, and 25.04 will be good to go until January 2026.
Most often, short-term releases aren’t nearly as exciting (or popular) as long-term releases, but 25.04 does have a few surprises up its feathery sleeve.
It starts with the installer
The Ubuntu installer received a bit of love for this release, with a refined dual-boot process and improved handling of Windows BitLocker-encrypted disks. The refinements of the installer help to solidify Ubuntu as one of the easiest operating systems to install.
It continues with the desktop
A good deal of the improvements come with the latest iteration of the GNOME desktop environment. Although GNOME 48 wasn’t a blockbuster release, it still had plenty of performance improvements and a few keen additions, such as the new Wellbeing section in Settings.
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The Well-being section is very similar to Android’s Well-being app in that it shows you your screen time and allows you to set screen limits, and configure break reminders. This handy app will be great for those who regularly forget to give themselves breaks from staring at a computer screen (yours truly included).
The Wellbeing section of Settings can help remind you to take those much-needed breaks.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
The Wellbeing feature can be accessed by opening Settings and then clicking Wellbeing in the left sidebar.
Other improvements include notification grouping, HDR support, and the usual round of app updates.
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There is one big improvement coming with Plucky Puffing… GNOME’s new triple buffering feature, which improves the smoothness of animations and overall desktop performance by optimizing how frames are scheduled and rendered. From what I’ve seen, the feature works, as this is the smoothest Ubuntu desktop I’ve experienced in a long time.
My experience with Plucky Puffin
I’m not going to lie; sometimes it just gets boring reviewing a Linux distribution that is as predictable as Ubuntu.
That, my friends, is one of the best things I can say about 25.04…it’s predictable.
What do I mean by that?
As soon as I logged into Ubuntu 25.04, I knew it was going to be stable, easy to use, and well-designed. Why? Because Ubuntu has been those things for a very long time and Canonical isn’t one to mess with what works.
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To that end, every time I install a new Ubuntu release, I can pretty much guess what the experience will be like. The desktop is the same as it ever was (with a bit of polish), and everything will work exactly as expected.
I cannot remember the last time Canonical released a version of Ubuntu that had anything remotely close to a game-changing surprise. It’s been a slow, steady, predictable climb to where we are now and that is perfectly fine by me.
Plucky Puffin sticks to that trend.
The biggest surprise I found on the desktop was a change in the official document viewer. Plucky Puffin is the first to switch from Evince, and Papers is a good step forward. It’s not huge, but it was a surprise.
Bare minimum, and that’s okay
Ubuntu still ships with the bare minimum of applications. I find that better than logging into an operating system with so many apps in the desktop menu (many of which I will never use). Fortunately, the App Center is there to help you find what you need.
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that the Ubuntu App Center has vastly improved from its former state, and the Plucky Puffin iteration makes that perfectly clear. With the App Center, you can find all of the software you need to be entertained and productive.
Performance is on par
Ubuntu has never been the fastest operating system on the market. I’d place it somewhere in the upper midrange. Plucky Puffin does seem a bit faster than the previous release, which is probably due to both GNOME 48 and kernel 6.14. The installed kernel includes plenty of improvements and better support for newer hardware.
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When I open apps on Plucky Puffin, they mostly open immediately. The outlier is Firefox, but we all know that app has been a bit slower than many browsers for some time. That being said, even Firefox opens faster on 25.04 than it did on 24.04.
Should you use Plucky Puffin?
This is the trillion-dollar question. First off, I’ll say that you should wait until the official release is made available, as you don’t want to use beta software as your go-to. Second, if you prefer long-term solutions, you might want to stick with 24.04, until 26.04 is made available. That’s not to say short-term releases aren’t viable, especially on the desktop.
If your intended use of Ubuntu Plucky Puffin was for a server, I’d say skip it and wait for the LTS version. If it’s all about the desktop, go ahead and make the jump. After all, you can upgrade from short-term to long-term releases with the help of the do-release-upgrade command. I’ve jumped from short-term to long-term releases without a problem, so I don’t hesitate to make the suggestion.
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However, if stability and continuity are your biggest concerns, hold off until the next LTS is available.
Plucky Puffin is yet another outstanding release from Canonical. It has just the right amount of newness, while still remaining as familiar as always. The addition of the Wellbeing feature, the incremental performance increases, and the continued improvement of GNOME make this yet another success for Canonical.
Is 25.04 a game-changer? No.
Is 25.04 a positive step forward for Ubuntu? Yes.
Should you try 25.04? Of course.
You can download a daily build of Plucky Puffin, or you can wait until the official release is made available (April 17). Make sure to check out the official release notes as well.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
