What’s New in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS? 20 Must‑Know Changes

20 Changes Between 20.04 and 22.04

1. Default Wayland

Wayland is the default display server in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. With Pipewire, screen sharing works out‑of‑the‑box, and it is enabled by default 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, abandoning the previous mixed dark title bar. Window close buttons follow the GNOME 42 libadwaita style with subtle gray “backdots”.

3. More compact Desktop UI

Due to upstream GNOME Shell changes, Ubuntu 22.04 appears more compact. Panels, pop‑ups, and menus use tighter margins, OSD elements are less obtrusive, and overall spacing is reduced.

4. Improved desktop icons experience

The new desktop icon extension lets users drag files and folders to and from the desktop. The Appearance panel now offers limited icon settings, and new folders appear in the bottom‑right corner by default.

5. Horizontal Workspaces

Workspaces are added and managed horizontally instead of vertically. They remain dynamic, and users can switch between them with the Super key, the Activities label, or new multitouch gestures.

6. App Launcher changes

The launcher now slides up from the bottom, works horizontally like workspaces, and supports free rearrangement of app shortcuts via drag‑and‑drop. Hovering over a truncated shortcut reveals its full name.

7. Dock differences

The Ubuntu Dock now places the trash can inside the dock and adds a separator between running and pinned apps. Additional dock settings are available in System Settings → Appearance.

8. Accent colours

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

9. Touchpad gestures

Three‑finger swipes open the Workspace Switcher, while additional three‑finger gestures reveal the App Launcher. Two‑finger swipes page left or right.

10. Password‑protected archives

Users can now extract password‑protected .zip files via right‑click → “Extract Here”. They can also create password‑protected .zip archives directly from Nautilus.

11. Microphone mute alert

When the microphone is active, its status appears in the top bar. If muted, a gray icon indicates that no audio is being captured.

12. Calendar events in the notification shade

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 on the clock when events exist.

13. Power options

Ubuntu 22.04 adds three power modes—"Power Saver", "Balanced", and (hardware‑dependent) "Performance"—accessible via System Settings → Power or the status menu.

14. Show battery percentage

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

15. Prominent restart option

A clear restart option is now available in the session menu of the status menu.

16. Keyboard shortcut settings

The keyboard shortcuts page has been reorganised as a sub‑section of Keyboard Settings, offering faster scanning, full searchability, and easier binding adjustments.

17. Multitasking options

System Settings now provides extensive multitasking options, including dynamic vs. fixed workspaces, hot‑corner toggles for the workspace switcher, and the ability to disable window snapping.

18. New screenshot tool

Pressing Print Screen now opens an interactive screenshot utility that allows region, window, or full‑screen captures, as well as screen recording.

19. Proper dark mode

Ubuntu 22.04 provides a true dark theme that affects the entire UI, including GNOME Shell, fixing the half‑light issue present in Ubuntu 20.04.

20. Firefox will only be provided as a Snap

Starting with Ubuntu 21.10, the Snap version of Firefox is the default. Upgrading from 20.04 replaces the .deb package with the Snap version.

To try Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, download the ISO from https://releases.ubuntu.com/22.04/ubuntu-22.04-live-server-amd64.iso or follow the upgrade guide at https://itsfoss.com/upgrade-ubuntu-version/.