Is there any possibility that Ubuntu 26.04 could be released earlier? Would it be possible to move the release date forward?
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Moved to Project Discussion > Pre-Release Discussion as the better fit for this question.
The reason for your request would be helpful.
My gut feeling is to say no, please don’t. It’s an LTS, and people (including me) who rely on LTS releases would prefer it to be as stable as possible before its initial release.
In my mind, rushing an LTS release would be counterproductive.
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Why? Why are you asking this question?
From my experience of being a long time Ubuntu user, I would say that from past experience there is always a possibility that a release will be delayed. This will especially apply to Long Term Support releases.
I base my reasoning on the fact that the upgrade path from one LTS release to the next LTS release is not opened until the first point release date has been reached.
I doubt very much if an LTS release will ever be released earlier than the announced release date.
I actually have an installation of Ubuntu 26.04. It is the development version. Installing the development version is one way of getting early experience of the next release of Ubuntu.
Regards
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Thank you for your detailed explanation.
I understand that LTS releases follow a fixed schedule and that they are more likely to be delayed than released early.
I was simply wondering whether there had ever been any discussion about adjusting the timeline, even slightly.
I’m aware that the development version is available, but I prefer to use stable releases for production systems.
If possible, I would appreciate a response from an official Ubuntu team member or release manager rather than a community user.
Thanks again.
I guess I’m not the only curious one: why do you want to change the timeline, why do you want an earlier release of Ubuntu 26.04?
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Are you currently on a LTS release?
If so then why the hurry? Ubuntu 24.04 doesn’t reach EOL until April 2029 and if you’re on a flavor LTS you still have until April 2027.
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The only release that ever came out “early” was Ubuntu 10.10, which was released on 10.10.10 - a Sunday. This was announced at the Brussels UDS as a nod to 101010 (binary) being 42 - a reference to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
However, because nobody really works on Sunday, technically, it was all prepared the week before, so minimal work was required on Sunday.
The release schedule is set well in advance, and while it has been delayed now and then, I’m not aware of any release that has been moved earlier. There may have been some discussion about this, but it’s far too late in the schedule to move the release now.
Unless you want to throw a giant bag of money at Canonical to pay for the engineering effort to move the release, you are 100% not going to get a release any earlier.
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The reason is simple: Ubuntu 24.04 feels too limited for my needs and does not offer enough improvements for me personally.
Because of that, I decided to remain on Ubuntu 22.04, which is supported until 2027. However, I am also considering long-term support timelines, as extended support for 24.04 runs until 2029.
We don’t need earlier releases, best would even be to postpone them to fix more big issues and have a better stable release overall.
Only release when really ready like Debian does or set a date but postpone the release by a week or two when critical bugs are found like Fedora does. Still not fixed? Postpone it again. It would also be good for flavors that encounter issues, that way they are given more time to fix things. A good example was with the 25.10 release in which Ubuntu Unity wasn’t ready due critical bugs that were found.
But nope, they have a fixed release and date set. That date, that time…. not ready, no stable release.
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I appreciate community input. However, I would prefer a response from an official Ubuntu team member or someone directly involved in the release process.
If you are not authorized or directly connected to the release management team, I kindly ask that you allow an official representative to respond.
You already had an answer by Popey who’s a official member. Besides that, answers from the community, who’ve been involved for a long time, are as valuable as those from a official team member.
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As already stated, Popey has given you your answer. To add to that:
If you want the release date changed, Mark Shuttleworth is the person who makes these decisions. He doesn’t frequent this forum, so he won’t answer here.
In any case, he would demand an extraordinary and highly exceptional reason to even consider bringing the release date forward. It is, after all, a mere 2½ months away, far too late to make a significant change.
Your complaint, “Ubuntu 24.04 feels too limited for my needs and does not offer enough improvements for me personally,” does not count as sufficient reason in the slightest.
Ubuntu 22.04 is supported until 2032, not 2027, if you use Pro (free for personal use up to 5 computers).
Ubuntu 24.04 is supported until 2036 — that’s 12 years — if you use Pro.
Likewise, Ubuntu 26.04 will be supported until 2038 if you use Pro.
If you’re looking for the official release date, you can see the official release schedule, with the final release on 23 April 2026.
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Temporarily closed for staff review.
Topic will remain closed.
This is a community forum, run by volunteers with decades of experience.
Official Canonical announcements are posted in the relevant categories, please refer to them.
For example, for the upcoming LTS release see here.
Thanks to all who participated.
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