According to the Linux Mint website, the Linux Mint 20 beta is undergoing last-minute checks before it’s released to the general public. If the images are approved, the general public will be able to use the beta and report any problems and then around two weeks later, the stable Linux Mint 20 images will be made available for download.
According to a blog post from June 1, the team will still be making last-minute tweaks during the beta period. It said that the new colours will receive last-minute adjustments during the beta phase based on the responses it receives from testers. It admitted that it has had mixed reactions to the new colours and is expected to revert some of the new colours back to their original forms.
Another change expected in Linux Mint 20 is that snapd will have to be explicitly installed. Last week, Neowin reported that the Mint team were angry that Canonical had made snapd a requirement for some installs which it promised it would never do. As a result, Linux Mint 20 will tell users to explicitly install snapd if they want to use dependent software.
If all goes according to plan and the beta is pushed in the next few days we may see the final version of Linux Mint 20 being made available at the end of the month or in early July.
Linux Mint 20 is based on Ubuntu 20.04 and will be supported until April 2025. If you’re on Linux Mint 19 and want to upgrade to the new version when its out, it’s best to back up your data and do a clean install. An upgrade path will be made available between Mint 19.3 and Mint 20 but it will likely involve extensive command line use and things could break so a clean install is preferable.