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Ubuntu 24.10 Finally Makes Wayland Default for NVIDIA Users

Great news for Ubuntu NVIDIA users!

As is typical after an Ubuntu LTS release, 24.04 in this case. The development of a non-LTS (interim) release is underway. Code-named “Oracular Oriole”, Ubuntu 24.10 is set to be released sometime in October 2024, barring any unforeseen delays, of course.

Such releases usually have a very short support cycle of just 9 months, and feature plenty of interesting changes that set the stage for future LTS releases, while also acting as a proving ground for new stuff.

With the development of 24.10 in full swing, one such change has caught my attention. NVIDIA users will finally have a Wayland experience out of the box 🥳

Ubuntu 24.10: A Wayland Future Awaits

a screenshot of ubuntu 24.10 oracular oriole development branch build
A development build of Ubuntu 24.10 running on a Virtual Machine

When Ubuntu 24.04 LTS released, we already knew that this was coming. Starting with the Ubuntu 24.10 release, the Wayland session will be the default one for NVIDIA users.

You see, the developers had shared a roadmap last month when they revealed that:

In Ubuntu 24.10 we’re also planning to take the plunge and switch to Wayland by default for those with NVIDIA graphics cards.

If you were wondering; Why not do it with the 24.04 release?

Well, at the time, the developers felt that there were still a few known issues with this implementation when it came to heavy use cases like VFX, AI/ML, and a few others; stating that it was too early for a switch.

But now, the developers are confident that this can be enabled on the interim release, as this gives them time to look for any unknown issues, and bugs before the upcoming Ubuntu 26.04 LTS release, which is less than 2 years away.

Their increased confidence could also be attributed to the fact that explicit sync support landed in Wayland back in April, and the likes of GNOME and KDE Plasma have already implemented it into their projects.

Explicit Sync in Wayland is The Answer to NVIDIA Linux Problems!
Time to say goodbye to NVIDIA Wayland issues? Sounds like it!

In the case of NVIDIA, the upcoming 555 driver series is going to set the stage for supporting explicit sync and GSP firmware by default on NVIDIA GPUs, making way for better compatibility and performance.

Want to check it out?

The above-mentioned changes are already live on the daily builds of Ubuntu 24.10 thanks to a recent change done to the GDM session manager.

You can grab it from the official website, but do keep in mind that these builds are not meant for production/daily use, as things often break when using these.

💬 Are you excited about this change? Let me know below!


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