Kubuntu 23.04 Release is Here!

If you are looking for a KDE-based distribution, Kubuntu is a no-brainer as an official Ubuntu flavour.

With Kubuntu 23.04, you can expect an enhanced KDE experience and several other improvements.

Let me take you through the highlights of the Kubuntu 23.04 release.

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Kubuntu 23.04 will be supported for nine months until January 2024. You can upgrade to Kubuntu 23.10 (upcoming version) if you want an up-to-date and secure system after its end of life.

🆕 Kubuntu 23.04: What's New?

Some of the best bits of the Kubuntu 23.04 release include:

KDE Plasma 5.27
Flatpak Removed
Discover Improvements
Plasma Wayland Session for testing
Pipewire default
KDE Application updates

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This is not a Long-Term Support version. So, for most, you do not need to upgrade. Go ahead only if you want the latest and greatest while willing to upgrade again soon under a year.

KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS

KDE Plasma 5.27 is the last 5. x series release before KDE 6 arrives.

So, with the latest KDE Plasma desktop onboard, you can expect all the improvements on the table. Things like enhanced multi-monitor support, a new welcome screen, and other user interface refinements, some of which I shall mention separately.

If you want to explore all about KDE Plasma 5.27, our original coverage should give you better insights:

Flatpak Support Removed

Kubuntu included Flatpak by default. However, with the recent Canonical decision to drop Flatpak support by default for all Ubuntu flavors, Kubuntu 23.04 is no exception.

checking for snap and flatpak in Kubuntu

You can manually add Flatpak, but you will no longer find it out-of-the-box.

Discover Enhancements

As part of KDE Plasma 5.27, Discover has received a significant overhaul for how it lists apps and programs. The Discover store looks more alive and valuable with the editor's choice and popular options.

Additionally, you can access more permissions for Flatpak apps through Discover and easily integrate Flatpak apps to Discover right after manually enabling them.

Plasma Wayland Session (Testing)

You can now try the Wayland session from the login screen of Kubuntu 23.04.

However, it is only meant for testing and is not fully supported.

KDE Application Updates

Every part of the KDE suite has received a version bump, including the file manager, Krunner, and others.

Krunner, the launcher now prompts for an internet search if it does not find anything matching what you are looking for, as shown in the screenshot below.

You will find a new Linux Kernel 6.2, features, and other subtle changes. The highlights worth mentioning include the following:

Pipewire as the default audio server
LibreOffice 7.5
Firefox 111 snap
Qt 5.15.8

You can refer to the release notes for more technical details.

📥 Download Kubuntu 23.04

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The download may take some time to be available after the release announcement.

Head to the official site for the latest ISO, or use Ubuntu's image repository to get it.

Kubuntu 23.04

If you are an existing user, you can follow the official guide to get the upgrade.

Kubuntu 23.04 Release is Here!