Ubuntu Desktop 25.10 - The Questing Quokka Roadmap

Project Discussion Desktop
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Questing Quokka As the Ubuntu 25.10 development cycle begins, I’m excited to share what’s on the horizon for Ubuntu Desktop. Questing Quokka, the final interim release before the next LTS, focuses on modernizing and expanding the desktop experience, platform support, and enterprise capabilities.

Below are the key items for the cycle and what we’re aiming to deliver by the time 25.10 ships in October.

:desktop_computer: Desktop Experience

Gnome 49 & New Core Apps

This release will feature Gnome 49, with updated shell extensions and a refreshed user interface, aligned on Gnome upstream.

Additionally, it will include two new applications: Loupe, a modern image viewer, and Ptyxis, a new terminal emulator, aiming to modernize the default application set.

Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support

Work is underway to finalize VRR support in Mutter, enhancing visual smoothness for users with compatible monitors, especially for gamers.

Wayland on Nvidia

We’re working closely with the upstream Gnome and Nvidia communities to polish the Wayland experience on Nvidia GPUs.

RISC-V Desktop Support

The goal is to achieve a fully functional desktop session on RISC-V architecture, including support for main applications like Firefox and Thunderbird.

:closed_lock_with_key: TPM-backed Full Disk Encryption (FDE)

Ubuntu Desktop’s TPM-backed Full Disk Encryption is nearing completion in the 25.10 release. Key improvements include recovery key management, where users will be able to view, save, or print their recovery key during installation. Post-installation, the Security Center will allow for regeneration of the key. Furthermore, the installer will display passphrase entropy, and PIN support will be added. To prevent data loss, a warning will prompt users to confirm they have their recovery key before proceeding with firmware updates.

:lock: Permissions & Prompting

We’re continuing our work to improve permission prompting in the desktop stack. We’ll focus on reducing prompts and improving default settings for a smoother user experience. We’re also improving the integration with Gnome Shell to ensure a smooth and intuitive experience.

:toolbox: Installer & Provisioning

Landscape integration is coming to the Ubuntu Desktop installer. This will allow enterprise admins to download autoinstall configuration files directly from Landscape at provisioning time, streamlining device enrolment and management workflows.

:cloud: Cloud Authentication & Device Management

This cycle brings deeper enterprise integration with Microsoft Entra ID device registration. Ubuntu devices will be able to register directly with Entra ID enabling policy enforcement.

:window: Ubuntu on WSL

Our WSL experience also continues to evolve with the release of refreshed 24.04 images in August aligned with the 24.04.3 LTS point release.

We’re planning to migrate 22.04 and 20.04 images to the new image format, bringing consistency and improved performance across all supported Ubuntu WSL versions.

:books: Desktop Documentation

A new desktop documentation strategy is taking shape. Our goal is to consolidate and revamp the current Ubuntu Desktop documentation experience, making it more accessible and discoverable for users and developers alike.

:wheelchair: Accessibility

Accessibility remains a core part of our mission. As we prepare for the European Accessibility Act (EAA) enforcement deadline in June 2025, we’re auditing and improving our accessibility support across the stack to ensure compliance and usability for all.

:date: Release Timeline

Key milestones for Ubuntu 25.10 “Questing Quokka” include:

  • Feature Freeze: August 14, 2025
  • User Interface Freeze: September 4, 2025
  • Beta Release: September 18, 2025
  • Final Release: October 9, 2025

For a detailed schedule, refer to the Questing Quokka Release Schedule.

I’ll continue to share progress updates throughout the cycle. As always, feedback and contributions from the community are welcome, especially if you want to help shape any of the features above.

Stay tuned as the Questing Quokka embarks on its journey!

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Nice to see some love given to the default application set! Has there been any thought given to replacing the system monitor with a more modern and featureful application, such as Mission Center?

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We also plan to replace the system monitor. We are currently evaluating Mission Center and Resources but haven’t made a decision yet.
We will replace the video player as well.

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Hey there,

Mission Center project lead here. Feel free to reach out in case you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks!

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Both Resources and Missioncenter are FLATPAK.
Will Ubuntu change its mind about flatpaks?

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ogra@styx:~$ snap info mission-center
name:      mission-center
summary:   Monitor your CPU, Memory, Disk, Network and GPU usage
publisher: Calota Romeo (kicsyromy)
store-url: https://snapcraft.io/mission-center
license:   GPL-3.0+
description: |
  **Monitor your CPU, Memory, Disk, Network and GPU usage**
  
  
  Features:
   * Monitor overall or per-thread CPU usage
   * See system process, thread, and handle count, uptime, clock speed (base and current), cache
   sizes
   * Monitor RAM and Swap usage
   * See a breakdown how the memory is being used by the system
   * Monitor Disk utilization and transfer rates
   * Monitor network utilization and transfer speeds
   * See network interface information such as network card name, connection type (Wi-Fi or
   Ethernet), wireless speeds and frequency, hardware address, IP address
   * Monitor overall GPU usage, video encoder and decoder usage, memory usage and power consumption,
   powered by the popular NVTOP project
   * Monitor system fans
   * See a breakdown of resource usage by app and process
   * Supports a minified summary view for simple monitoring
   * Use hardware accelerated rendering for all the graphs in an effort to reduce CPU and overall
   resource usage
   * Uses GTK4 and Libadwaita
   * Written in Rust
  
  
  
  Limitations (there is ongoing work to overcome all of these):
   * Intel GPU monitoring is only supported for Broadwell and later GPUs; and does not support VRAM,
   power, or temperature monitoring
   * When using Linux Mint/Cinnamon, launched applications may not show up in the "Applications"
   section (Upstream issue: https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon/issues/12015)
snap-id: Th1BlgSBbtQD5R2pkl1W4kr28euQ7tvg
channels:
  latest/stable:    1.0.0 2025-05-03 (11) 43MB -
  latest/candidate: ↑                          
  latest/beta:      ↑                          
  latest/edge:      ↑                          
ogra@styx:~$
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A lot of great things on the list here! VRR support would be appreciated, but especially progress on TPM-backed FDE is something I am looking forward to. Just to double check: this will finally allow usage of TPM-backed FDE in conjunction with proprietary Nvidia drivers?

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Mission Center also has a Snap release, though TBH that’s likely mostly irrelevant anyways, as applications shipped by default usually get packaged natively (apt/dpkg/deb).