The Linux Mint team recently disclosed the new enhancements and updates for the upcoming Ubuntu and Debian based OS editions. The most recent variant of the distro was Linux Mint 19.3, dubbed “Tricia”.
Most of the Linux distros follow a particular naming convention for each version — for instance, Ubuntu uses a two-word animal name. Likewise, Linux Mint titles every release a female codename alphabetically. Therefore, starting with the Mint 1 “Ada” and the latest Mint 19.3 “Tricia,” Linux Mint 20 is dubbed “Ulyana.”
Linux Mint confirmed that the new release will include all the improvements of Linux Mint 19.3 . Some features already included in “Tricia” were like HiDPI, boot repair and language settings.
Quick summary on what to expect from Linux Mint 20 “Ulyana”
- LMDE 4
- Fractional scaling
- Monitor frequency adjustment
- Only 64-bit availability
- New color for the Mint-Y theme
- Warpinator, Local network file sharing tool
- Nemo file manager performance improvement
1. LMDE 4
The Linux Mint 20 is highly likely to be based on the upcoming Ubuntu 20.4 LTS. LMDE 4 will be able to support the Btrfs sub-modules and home directory encryption. We highly anticipate that LMDE 4 will be the first to be released.
For Nvidia users, LMDE 4 adds a new entry in the boot menu to install the NVIDIA drivers on the fly. It will redirect you to the login GUI in case of a black screen during OS booting.
2. Fractional scaling
Fractional scaling, a feature that will allow you to configure the scale value between 100% and 200% for each monitor independently, will also be included.
This means that instead of either 100% (normal mode) or 200% (HiDPI mode) scaling for all monitors, you can now configure the scale value between 100% and 200% for each monitor independently.
3. Monitor frequency adjustment
Linux Mint 20 also resolves the long-sought demand to adjust the monitor frequency. You will now able to choose the frequency of your monitor in the display settings.
4. Only 64-bit availability
Most systems are now moving toward 64-bit rapidly and Linux Mint has decided to drop the development of 32-bit ISO images. As a result, the upcoming Mint 20 will only be available in 64-bit featuring three editions: Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce.
Some bad to the KDE lovers is that Linux mint has discontinued the KDE edition.
5. New color themes
Themes are what give Linux Mint it’s beautiful unique minty feeling. Linux Mint 20 introduced two new colors, Pink and Aqua, in the default Mint-Y theme.
6. Warpinator tool
The warpinator tool is used to send files across the local network. Currently, it is almost ready to use, and the only option remaining is the addition of data encryption.
7. Nemo performance improvement
Nemo is the default file manager for Cinnamon. Sometimes however, loading existing thumbnails for files degrades the performance of browsing content and directory navigation.
To enhance performance, Linux Mint 20 changes the method of thumbnail handling. Instead of waiting to show a thumbnail, Nemo will now display generic icons for the content of the directory until the thumbnails load. This method also increases the file transfer of heavy input/output with external devices.
Linux Mint 20 Release Date
There has been no official release date that has been announced yet as of the publishing date of this article.But if we look at the previous release of Linux Mint based on long-term Ubuntu 16.04 or 18.04, Linux Mint mostly releases in the last week of June.
Based on this observation, we can predict that Linux Mint 20 will most likely be released in June after the release of Ubuntu 20.04 on 23 April 2020.
For more information on Linux Mint, read their official blog.
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