In mid-November, Clement Lefebvre launched a beta of the next version of the operating system that it develops. Looking back in time, we all thought that the stable version of Linux Mint 20.1 it would arrive before Christmas, on days 22-24, but it was not. Personally, I have looked at the project server several times to see if they had at least uploaded the images, but no. And the monthly newsletter for December has explained to us why.
What can be the reason for a delay? Right now, I can only think of one: problems. And is that the Linux Mint team has reported that they have 34 open problems. They say that most of them shouldn't prevent the release, but there are still bugs they want to fix before they deliver the stable version of Linux Mint 20.1. Now the question is: when will it arrive?
It is not known when Linux Mint 20.1 will arrive
At the moment there are 34 open issues. Most of them are not version blockers, but there are still bugs that we want to fix before giving Linux Mint 20.1 a stable version. I know I've been asked multiple times, but I can't give an exact release date. It's not that we don't want to tell you, it's just that we don't know exactly when the launch will take place. Until it's ready, it won't happen, and once it's ready, there's no reason to wait to announce a date.
Although there is no official arrival date for Linux Mint 20.1, they do underline that they have a development cycle of six months, which gives them rhythm and a certain sense of urgency, so they are focused on releasing it now, but that "now" is not known when it will be exactly. Among the problems, they mention some regressions in the LTS kernel that Ubuntu uses, one of the most serious being one that affects the touch panels. That bug is not going to be fixed anytime soon because we are already in the middle of the Christmas season. Another problem that they have to tackle is related to the AMD Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7, so be patient.
Linux Mint 20.1 will be codenamed Ulyssa and will be supported until 2025.
Well, very serious, no matter how much they say, they will not be because I have installed the beta since it came out and everything is really luxurious, zero problems. What they want to deliver well polished and it seems perfect to me, the release dates of the Distros are bullshit, they should all come out when they are ready and out.