Ubuntu MATE

Ubuntu MATE is a free and open-source Linux distribution and an official derivative of Ubuntu. Its main differentiation from Ubuntu is that it uses the MATE desktop environment as its default user interface (based on GNOME 2), instead of the GNOME 3 desktop environment that is the default user interface for Ubuntu.^[2][3]

Ubuntu MATE

Ubuntu MATE 25.04 "Plucky Pluffin"
Developer	Ubuntu MATE team
OS family	Linux (Unix-like)
Working state	Current
Source model	Open source
Initial release	23 October 2014; 10 years ago (2014-10-23)
Latest release	25.04 "Plucky Puffin" / 17 April 2025; 39 days ago (2025-04-17) [1]
Available in	Multilingual
Update method	APT (Software Updater, Ubuntu Software Center)
Package manager	dpkg
Platforms	IA-32 (defunct), x86-64, PowerPC, ARM
Kernel type	Monolithic
Userland	GNU
Default user interface	MATE
License	Free software licenses (mainly GPL)
Official website	ubuntu-mate.org

History

The Ubuntu MATE project was founded by Martin Wimpress and Alan Pope^[4] and began as an unofficial derivative of Ubuntu, using an Ubuntu 14.10 base for its first release;^[5] a 14.04 LTS release followed shortly.^[6] As of February 2015, Ubuntu MATE gained the official Ubuntu flavour status from Canonical as per the release of 15.04 Beta 1.^[7][8] In addition to IA-32 and x86-64 which were the initial supported platforms, Ubuntu MATE also supports PowerPC and ARMv7 (on the Raspberry Pi 2 and 3^[9] as well as the ODROID XU4^[10]).

In April 2015, Ubuntu MATE announced a partnership with British computer reseller Entroware, enabling Entroware customers to purchase laptop and desktop computers with Ubuntu MATE preinstalled with full support.^[11] Several other hardware deals were announced later.

In Ubuntu MATE 18.10, 32-bit support was dropped.^[12]

Releases

Current release	Release no longer supported	Release still supported	Future release

Version	Codename	Release date	Supported until	Remarks
14.04 LTS	Trusty Tahr	2014-11-11	April 2019	Released after the 14.10 release in order to provide long-term support until 2019, following Ubuntu.[6]
14.10[13]	Utopic Unicorn	2014-10-23	July 2015	First release of Ubuntu MATE.[5]
15.04	Vivid Vervet	2015-04-23[14]	January 2016	First release as an official Ubuntu flavour.[2]
15.10[15]	Wily Werewolf	2015-10-22[16]	July 2016	Features MATE 1.10, Ubuntu Software Center not installed by default.[17]
16.04 LTS	Xenial Xerus	2016-04-21	April 2019[18]	First official LTS release; features MATE 1.12.x DE, expanded Welcome application and Software Boutique; has ZFS built-in by default.[19][20]
16.10	Yakkety Yak	2016-10-13[21]	July 2017	Full GTK3+ implementation of the MATE Desktop. Most default applications are "Recommended" and can thus be uninstalled without issue.[22]
17.04	Zesty Zapus	2017-04-13	January 2018	Concluded the migration to GTK3+.[23]
17.10[24]	Artful Aardvark	2017-10-19	July 2018	17.10.1, was released on 12 January 2018. It fixed a problem that corrupted the UEFI & BIOS firmware.[25]
18.04 LTS[26][27][28][29]	Bionic Beaver	2018-04-26	April 2021	It includes support for GPD Pocket & Pocket 2, Raspberry Pi B2/B3/B3+.[30][31][32]
18.10[33][34][35]	Cosmic Cuttlefish	2018-10-18	July 2019	First non-LTS 64-bit-only release, end of 32-bit support. Features MATE 1.20.[36][37][38]
19.04	Disco Dingo	2019-04-18	January 2020	Features MATE 1.20 and Nvidia drivers.[39]
19.10	Eoan Ermine	2019-10-17	July 2020	Non-LTS 64-bit-only release. Features MATE 1.22.2 and replaces VLC media player with GNOME mpv as default media player software.[40]
20.04 LTS	Focal Fossa	2020-04-23	April 2023[41]	Features MATE 1.24.[42]
20.10	Groovy Gorilla	2020-10-22	July 2021	Features MATE 1.24.1.[43]
21.04	Hirsute Hippo	2021-04-22	January 2022	64-bit-only. Features MATE 1.24.2.[44]
21.10	Impish Indri	2021-10-14	July 2022	Features MATE 1.26.[45]
22.04 LTS	Jammy Jellyfish	2022-04-21	April 2027	Features MATE 1.26.1.[46]
22.10	Kinetic Kudu	2022-10-20	July 2023	PipeWire replaces PulseAudio, and MATE 1.26.1 includes some backported features from the unreleased 1.28 version
23.04[47][48]	Lunar Lobster	2023-04-20	January 2024
23.10[49]	Mantic Minotaur	2023-10-12	July 2024
24.04 LTS	Noble Numbat	2024-04-25	May 2029	Current LTS release.
24.10	Oracular Oriole	2024-10-10	July 2025	Current interim release

Reception

In a May 2016 review Jesse Smith of DistroWatch concluded, "despite my initial problems getting Ubuntu MATE installed and running smoothly, I came away with a positive view of the distribution. The project is providing a very friendly desktop experience that requires few hardware resources by modern standards. I also want to tip my hat to the default theme used on Ubuntu MATE."^[50]

Dedoimedo reviewed Ubuntu MATE in July 2018, and wrote that "[Ubuntu MATE offers] a wealth of visual and functional changes…You really have the ability to implement anything and everything, and all of it natively, from within the system's interface".^[51]

Starting with the 22.04 LTS release, Ubuntu MATE included AI-generated wallpapers. These were warmly received by popular tech blogs, with OMG! Ubuntu exclaiming "I'm blown away by the quality of this AI-produced artwork"^[52] for the 22.04 release, and IT's FOSS News proclaiming the "beautiful" wallpapers were "a big highlight" of the 22.10 release".^[53]

See also

• Comparison of Linux distributions
• GTK
• Linux Mint
• MATE
• Ubuntu Budgie
• Ubuntu Unity
• Xubuntu