Canonical has released Ubuntu 24.04. Noble Nubat was delayed because of the XZ vulnerability that threatened to take down Linux distributions everywhere (but thankfully didn't).

As far as what's new, you'll find Gnome 46 at the forefront, which vastly improves the file manager experience and offers the best-performing version of the open-source desktop to date. Gnome 46 also brings a revamped Settings tool that arranges certain sections (such as the Privacy option) in a much more logical fashion. Gnome 46 also improves the notifications feature, adding grouped notifications (per app) so there's less clutter.

Ubuntu 24.04 also adds a brand new installer, which makes the installation of the OS not only easier but more modern looking. As well, you'll find some of the settings in the installer have been rearranged (for example: all the accessibility settings are in one location and can be customized).

The Software Center has been renamed to AppCenter and has been tweaked for a more user-friendly experience. A new Manage sections offers an overview of installed and updated software, where you can check for and apply pending updates.

Other features and changes include Thunderbird as a Snap package, plenty of performance tweaks, UI refinements, advanced ZFS file system features, kernel 6.8, the enforcement of Retpoline ABI checks, and more.

You can download Ubuntu 24.04 from the official download page and read about it in the official release notes.