Short Bytes: Unity 8 with Mir and Snaps are the future of Ubuntu Desktop after Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial Xerus, according to Canonical’s Will Cooke, Ubuntu Desktop Manager. The world’s most popular open source operating system is expected to get back on the track to achieve its goal of convergence in the upcoming releases by making a complete shift to Unity 8 before Ubuntu 17.04.
While Ubuntu users are busy upgrading their computers to the recently released Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Canonical is looking ahead and planning the future of Ubuntu desktop.
The development of Ubuntu 16.10 Yakkety Yak has already begun and you can go ahead and download the daily ISO builds of the nascent OS. Additionally, the future of Ubuntu and the features of Yakkety Yak were recently discussed in the Ubuntu Online Summit 2016.
According to Canonical’s Will Cooke, Ubuntu Desktop Manager, the future of Ubuntu Desktop lies with Snaps and Unity 8 with Mir.
To push these technologies faster, Canonical has already begun supporting the Snaps installation from the Ubuntu Snappy Store on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.
Looking at the current development, it seems that Ubuntu 16.10 will allow you to buy Snap apps from store and major software like Firefox will be installed by default as Snaps in the ISO files.
Also read: How to Install Unity 8 on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 15.10
It should be noted that the new Snap package being seen in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS was actually designed for the Unity 8 desktop. While Ubuntu developers performed an appreciable job with Ubuntu 7 and X.org, it didn’t do much to achieve Canonical’s convergence dream.
In upcoming times, probably after Ubuntu 16.10 Yakkety Yak, Unity 8 desktop will become the default option. Unity 8 is available as a preview for early adopters on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and a more polished version will be there for Ubuntu 16.10 Yakkety Yak.
It looks like the complete transition to Unity 8 from Unity 7 will take place sometime before Ubuntu 17.04. Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out the best features of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and grab the upgrade.
What are your expectations from the future versions of Ubuntu? Share your views in the comments below.
