With Linux Mint 21.2 release out, development attention turns toward its successor, Linux Mint 21.3, which Mint today confirmed will be released in December.
We don’t have a codename for the release (though we do have one of the upcoming Debian-based version of Linux Mint: ‘Faye’) but we do have some loose info about what to (not) expect.
“We’ve got many exciting ideas, I’m sure some of the cool new features we have in mind will be implemented, but we want to prioritize some long-term aspects and dedicate some of our time to them,” writes Linux Mint lead Clement Lefebvre.
“We want to update our ISO production tools and fix secureboot. We also want to spend time on studying the pros and cons of Wayland and to assess the work needed in its potential adoption,” he adds.
Folks are eager to see Linux Mint switch to Wayland as soon as possible. While some work has been done to make component parts of the Cinnamon desktop sack Wayland friendly, hearing the team is still at an “assess” stage suggests a proper Wayland switch remains a little way off.
But hey: better it takes time and get done right than arrive half-baked.
Ahead of that, be on the look out for a Linux Mint 21.2 Edge ISO. This ISO contains everything the regular Linux Mint 21.2 release has to offer but uses a newer Linux 6.2 kernel. This will improved support for running Linux Mint on newer/more recent hardware.
Mint’s long term strategy with Ubuntu
Finally, Clement Lefebvre also touches briefly on Ubuntu. I kinda didn’t want to draw attention to the remarks for fear of them being blown out of proportion – but I think they’re important to at acknowledge.
The upcoming Linux Mint 21.3 release is based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS but a new Ubuntu LTS is due next year. That release is likely to lean more heavily on Snap than any before. An “increased focus on Snap” and “the quality of [the] 24.04 package base” are things Mint says it will be “keeping an eye on”.
Upstream changes will have an impact on it as a downstream. Mint had to take on packaging Mozilla Firefox as a deb after Ubuntu switched to a Snap (and made the traditional deb package in the repo a transition package).
If those sort of shifts increase Mint does need to be prepared — which it sounds like it is.
