The Ubuntu MATE team has published Ubuntu MATE 18.10, a stable release of Ubuntu MATE project. This release ships a set of updated packages from the Ubuntu base and bug fixes from upstream MATE project. It suitable for people who prefer a stable desktop experience with improved hardware support.

More stable MATE Desktop

Ubuntu MATE 18.10 ships MATE Desktop 1.20.3. It brings various bug fixes to provide a more stable experience. It includes updated AppMenu and MATE Dock applet. The Debian packaging team for MATE Desktop was closely working with the upstream project to make all these fixes available on Debian repositories. Mr. Martin Wimpress of Ubuntu MATE project is also a part of this.

Improved hardware support & gaming experience

Ubuntu MATE 18.10 is shipped with Linux Kernel 4.18. It includes a hardware enablement stack (HWE) to provide better hardware support. This will definitely help Ubuntu users who are increasingly adopting the current generation of AMD RX Vega GPUs, both discrete and integrated solutions such as the Intel Core i7-8809G Radeon RX Vega M found in the Hades Canyon NUC and some laptops.

Updated applications

In addition to Linux Kernel 4.18 and MATE Desktop 1.20.3, Ubuntu MATE ships a set of updated applications including Firefox 59.0.2, VLC 3.0.4, LibreOffice 6.1.2.1 and Thunderbird 60.2.1.

It is all coming to Ubuntu MATE 18.04.2

The Ubuntu MATE finds 18.10 as a showcase release of Ubuntu MATE 18.04.2 scheduled for March 2018. It will include most of the features from Ubuntu MATE Cosmic Cuttlefish including the MATE Desktop patches and improved hardware support.

For further information, you can find release announcement published on Ubuntu MATE blog.