The Ubuntu 24.10 "Oracular Oriole" Beta has just been released for the community to try out before it is launched fully next month on October 10. The Beta period will give users a chance to try out the new version and test the things they care about to see if anything is broken. These issues can be sent to Canonical, who will hopefully fix the problem by launch.
Some of the big changes in this upgrade include GNOME 47, which came out recently, and a selection of new wallpapers, including those marking the 20th anniversary of Ubuntu; you can check out the wallpapers here.
While the Beta version of Ubuntu Desktop (non-x86) is probably what most people will be drawn to, there are Betas now available for all the different spins of Ubuntu too including Ubuntu Server, Ubuntu Cloud, Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, UbuntuKylin, Ubuntu Studio, and Xubuntu. The Betas for Ubuntu Cinnamon, Ubuntu MATE, and Ubuntu Unity still aren"t ready but could be available by Monday.
Another new feature coming in Ubuntu 24.10 is for Nvidia users. They will be switched to Wayland by default instead of Xorg. The plan is to solve any issues throughout Ubuntu 24.10, 25.04, and 25.10 before the long-term support (LTS) release in April 2026.
As a non-LTS release, Ubuntu 24.10 will only be supported until July 2025. While it will be considered stable, you"ll have to upgrade in the not too distant future. For this reason, if you don"t want to keep doing upgrades, it"s best to wait on Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS (and subsequent point releases) until Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS is released in August 2026.
Ubuntu 24.04.x LTS is supported for five years from release, so that takes you up to 2029 - not bad considering it"s a free-of-charge operating system. If productivity is what matters to you, it"s a no-brainer: jump on the LTS version instead.
Source: Ubuntu