20 Must‑Know Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Desktop Enhancements

1. Default Wayland

Wayland is the default display server in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, with Pipewire support for screen sharing and works out‑of‑the‑box even on NVIDIA hardware. Users can switch back to Xorg from the login screen if needed.

2. Light‑Mode Default Appearance

The Yaru GTK theme now uses a fully light theme, dropping the mixed dark‑title‑bar style. Window close buttons no longer use a bright red dot; instead subtle gray “backdots” appear behind all three window controls, matching the libadwaita look in GNOME 42.

3. More Compact Desktop UI

Upstream GNOME Shell changes make Ubuntu 22.04 look more compact. Panels, pop‑ups, and menus use tighter margins, menu padding is reduced, and OSD elements such as volume and brightness indicators are less obtrusive.

4. Improved Desktop Icons Experience

The new desktop‑icon extension lets you drag files and folders between the file manager and the desktop in both directions. A revamped appearance panel in Settings offers limited icon configuration, and new folders appear at the bottom‑right by default.

5. Horizontal Workspaces

Workspaces are now arranged horizontally and remain dynamic. Access them via the Super key, the Activities label, or new multitouch gestures, and interact with thumbnail previews when multiple workspaces are in use.

6. App Launcher Changes

The full‑screen launcher now slides up from the bottom and can be paged left or right. Users can freely rearrange app shortcuts by drag‑and‑drop, and hovering over a truncated name reveals the full title.

7. Dock Differences

The Ubuntu Dock now places the trash can inside the dock and adds a separator between running and pinned app icons. Additional dock settings appear under System Settings → Appearance, including a panel‑less mode and multi‑monitor behavior options.

8. Accent Colours

Ubuntu replaces most purple tones in the Yaru theme with orange, but users can choose from ten accent colours, affecting the GTK theme, GNOME Shell, and some icons.

9. Touchpad Gestures

New three‑finger gestures open and close the Workspace Switcher and App Launcher, with two‑finger swipes for left/right paging. The animations are 1:1 with hand movement, giving Ubuntu a polished, cohesive feel.

10. Password‑Protected Archive Extraction

You can now extract password‑protected .zip files directly via “Extract Here”. Creating a protected .zip is also possible from Nautilus by selecting “Compress”, choosing the password option, and entering a password.

11. Microphone Mute Indicator

When the microphone is active, its status appears in the top bar; if muted, a gray icon indicates that no sound is being transmitted.

12. Calendar Events in the Notification Area

Events from the Calendar app appear in the notification shade/clock applet. The current day’s events are shown by default, with a dot indicator for days that have scheduled items.

13. Power Options

Ubuntu 22.04 adds three power modes—“Power‑Saver”, “Balanced”, and (hardware‑dependent) “Performance”. Modes can be selected in Settings → Power or via the status menu. On laptops, Power‑Saver activates automatically when the battery is low.

14. Show Battery Percentage

The top bar now displays the battery percentage out‑of‑the‑box, without requiring tweaks or custom scripts.

15. Prominent Restart Option

A clearly visible restart entry has been added to the session options in the status menu.

16. Keyboard Shortcut Settings

The keyboard shortcuts page is now a sub‑section of Keyboard Settings, organized for faster scanning, fully searchable, and makes finding and editing a specific binding easier than before.

17. Multitasking Options

System Settings now offers extensive multitasking options, including dynamic versus fixed workspaces, disabling the hot‑corner that triggers the workspace switcher, and turning off window snapping.

18. New Screenshot Tool

Pressing Print Screen now opens an interactive screenshot utility that lets you resize the capture area, take full‑screen or window‑specific shots, and even record the screen.

19. Proper Dark Mode

Unlike Ubuntu 20.04, the dark theme now affects the entire UI, including GNOME Shell, providing a truly comprehensive dark mode.

20. Firefox Delivered as Snap

Firefox is shipped as a Snap package by default in Ubuntu 21.10 and continues in 22.04; upgrading from 20.04 replaces the .deb version with the Snap.