For those anxiously awaiting the next non-LTS release of Ubuntu, a plucky little puffin has some exciting news. Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) will be released on April 17^th with quite a few notable features.

One of the more exciting (and under the hood) changes is the replacement of -O2 compiler optimizations with -O3. This should go a long way to boosting the execution speed of all apps. As well, Ubuntu 25.04 ships with the 6.14 kernel, which adds additional hardware support, better energy efficiency, and additional security patches.

Another big update is Gnome 48. Not only does Gnome 48 further refine the responsiveness of the UI, but it also improves workflow and introduces a new Wellbeing tracker that allows users to manage screen time.

Wayland support gets further improvements as the default display server for smoother graphics and better HDPI support.

As for security, you'll find enhanced encryption, better handling of Windows BitLocker-encrypted disks, a redesigned Security Center Dashboard (for firewall, updates, and vulnerability management), and the addition of Chrony for encrypted time sync.

Several other improvements include optimizations for the ZFS and Btrfs filesystems, improved support for Snap and Flatpak, better support for OpenSC smart cards in the Firefox Snap, refinements to the installer (with a focus on a better dual-boot experience), support for WPA-PSK-SHA256 WiFi in Netplan, and much more.

Make sure to check the official Ubuntu site for the official download on April 17th, 2025. In the meantime, you can read the official Plucky Puffin release notes.