The 21.04 non-LTS (interim) release of Ubuntu Mate brings a few tweak to the 1.24 version of MATE Desktop as well as other noteworthy improvements
What’s new in Ubuntu Mate 21.04:
- MATE Desktop:
- The MATE Desktop team released maintenance updates for the current stable 1.24 release of MATE. Weve updated the MATE packaging in Debian to incorporate all these bug fixes and translation updates and synced those packages to Ubuntu so they all feature in this 21.04 release. There are no new features, just fixes
- Ayatana Indicators:
Ubuntu Mate 21.04 is the latest non-LTS (interim) release and provides a slew of performance improvements, some interesting new features, as well as a Yaru theme overhaul thanks to a new collaboration between Yaru team, Canonical Design and Ubuntu Desktop teams.
Yaru theme overhaul
Dubbed Yaru MATE, the new theme is a derivate of the old Yaru theme first introduced in 18.10. It has light and dark themes, new Suru icons, as well as a series of other fresh icons. For instance, LibreOffice benefits from a new Yaru MATE icon, as well as various tweaks on the font contrast meant to make the whole experience of writing and reading texts a lot nicer.
One of the biggest issue with Ubuntu Mate was just how bad it looked on very big screens. Thanks to these changes, most Ubuntu Mate icons have SVG icons which ensures that they won’t look pixelated on screens with big resolutions.
Ayatana indicators and Yoru MATE snaps
21.04 provides users the ability to change the settings (layout, actions, and behaviors) of Ayatana Indicators from the Control Center.
The new version also comes pre-packed with gtk-theme-yaru-mate and icon-theme-yaru-mate snaps by default. These allow you to connect themes to compatible snaps.
Another interesting change is the layout of Mutiny. Now, Mutiny mimics the desktop layout of Unity. The MATE Dock Applet has been removed, and the whole layout has been designed to use Plank. This is an automatic process and will be done when you switch to Mutiny Layout via MATE Tweak.
Other changes and app upgrades
Ubuntu MATE 21.04 brings a bit of news for the command-line lovers out there. There are a few new commans such as “neofetch,” “htop,” and inxi” that are included in the default Ubuntu MATE install.
As with all Ubuntu MATE releases, some default apps have also received some upgrades. Some prime examples are Firefox (87), LibreOffice (7.1.2.2), Evolution (3.40), and Celluloid (0.20).
Verdict
Ubuntu MATE 21.04 brings a fresh new look and even though there are no massive changes, it’s a step forward for the Ubuntu-derived OS.
