Although I think I am not wrong when I say that most Linux users prefer to have complete control over our operating system, there is also another type of user who simply wants to have something that works and be able to use certain applications. For this type of person, there are more and more immutable distributions, which are those in which we can install software and make some modifications, but minimal ones so that nothing breaks. As examples, SteamOS, of course, and Fedora Silverblue, to which we can add Ubuntu Core Desktop.
Last June we had the first news about this project, and a few days later we were able to try that experiment. Little else was known until this week, when it was confirmed that, although the initial plan included launching Ubuntu Core Desktop as part of the Noble Numbat family, in the end it will not be possible. Anyone who is waiting for this option will have to be patient, since Tim Holmes-Mitra (via OMG! Free!) say what They can't give any date either..
Ubuntu Core Desktop may not arrive this year
«It won't be released on 24.04 and unfortunately I can't give a date until we've fixed the issues that need resolution – we want the user experience to be great and that's going to take time«.
The details are not known about the problems they are facing, but it makes sense that they wouldn't want to release something like this if it doesn't offer a notable experience. What is now known as Ubuntu Core Desktop is designed for people who just want to be able to use an operating system without headaches, and it would be a bad start if the experience is diminished by bugs.
Hopefully, those issues are fixed in the coming months and they release the new ISO in October, but this is nowhere near confirmed. Ubuntu Core Desktop will not become the main version of Ubuntu, something that could worry some users of the Canonical system. If it does not arrive by 24.10, it is most likely that we will have an immutable version of Ubuntu in April 2025.