Ubuntu MATE has always stood out among other official Ubuntu flavors thanks to its bespoke and configurable desktop environment (the MATE desktop) and its versatility when it comes to supported hardware.
Safe to say that the latest iteration of Ubuntu MATE, the 22.04 LTS (long-term support release), also codenamed Jammy Jellyfish, is no exception when it comes to standing out.
Just like all official Ubuntu flavor releases, Ubuntu MATE 22.04 LTS is the final result of 2 years of development (since the latest 20.04 LTS), and is set to receive security and general updates for three years straight (since 2025).
The new MATE Desktop version 1.26.1 and improved theme support
This is by far the most exciting change in the MATE development cycle. Introduced in 21.10, a lot of work has gone into making MATE Desktop 1.26.1 a lot more stable, faster, and overall better (over 500 bugs were fixed since 1.26.0).
The theme changes are also in the highlight in this version. MATE’s compatibility with themes, in general, has been totally improved. Now, all the Yaru color accents are available, and the Ambiant/Radiant themes have been removed.
Other noteworthy changes
The Appearance Control Center has also seen a complete overhaul. It now accurately switches the color schemes for apps (and comes with both proper light and dark modes).
Ubuntu MATE 22.04 LTS also features updated Ayatana indicators (a fork of Ubuntu’s default indicators). The end result is less RAM and CPU usage which, in turn, improve battery performance.
MATE Tweak is also on the changes list. In short, the layout switching is not smoother, better, and more adept at dealing with custom layouts. The MATE HUD now supports the latest version of rofi (a newly introduced theme engine).
Some great news for users using lower-end or older computers: the ISO size has now been reduced by quite some margin to a decent 2.7 GB. The Welcome screen has also been updated, a new image for the Raspberry Pi is available, and the OS also features three new AI-generated wallpapers.
App and package changes
Before anything else, yes, Firefox is now a snap. What very nice is the default support for PPA, Snap, AppImage, and Flatpak that Ubuntu MATE provides, making it one of the few Linux distros to actually provide users with all this freedom straight-out-of-the-box.
Some GNOME apps have also received updates, namely Maps, Clocks, and Weather, and they do look very nice and polished. Other updates include Firefox (99.0), Celluloid (0.20), Evolution (3.44), LibreOffice (7.3.2.1), and Blueman (2.2.4).
If you’re wondering about the Linux Kernel, you’ll be please to hear that Ubuntu Mate 22.04 LTS uses the latest stable version of Linux Kernel (5.15 LTS).
Verdict
Even though all official Ubuntu flavors have received massive updates, it really seems that the team behind Ubuntu MATE 22.04 LTS have really gone the extra mile.
To conclude, Ubuntu MATE 22.04 LTS is an excellent and compelling alternative to Canonical’s star OS, Ubuntu. It includes a lot of Yaru themes, features amazing support for all packaging formats (controversial or not, Ubuntu MATE doesn’t discriminate), and offers a nice all-round package.
