In addition to the parent Ubuntu distribution, Canonical, the company that owns and develops the most famous GNU Linux distribution ever, supports a group of distributions that share the same core components and packages with Ubuntu such as the kernel, drivers, default browser, but differ in desktop environments and theming style. This is what is called Ubuntu's official flavors.
However, all flavors of Ubuntu use the same repository for downloading updates, so the same set of packages is available regardless of which flavor you have installed. In other words, everything that is available on Ubuntu is available on all the other flavors.
With each Ubuntu release, all official flavors are also released on the same day and have the same support period. Currently, the Ubuntu flavor group consists of seven distributions: Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Studio, and Xubuntu.
Kubuntu is an official flavor of the Ubuntu operating system that uses the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the GNOME desktop environment, and it aims to create a modern operating system with a traditional appearance somewhat similar to Windows that enables the user to carry out his daily tasks easily and without complications.
What really distinguishes KDE Plasma is that it is beautiful, extremely light, and customizable from the ground up. You can customize the interface as you like without restrictions, and also, all major programs in Linux are available on the Ubuntu repositories or provide a ready .deb installation file, which makes it easy for you to install it on the Ubuntu distribution and its flavors with just two clicks, which makes Kubuntu a distribution worth trying.
Kubuntu 21.04 comes with:
- KDE Plasma 5.21.4
- KDE Frameworks 5.80
- KDE Applications 20.12.3
- Qt 5.15.2
- Krita 4.4.3
- Kdevelop 5.6.2
Lubuntu is an official Ubuntu flavor that uses the Lightweight Qt Desktop Environment (LXQt). The project’s goal is to provide a lightweight yet functional Linux distribution based on a rock-solid Ubuntu base.
It is a suitable distribution for old devices that have very modest technical specifications, and it requires only a 64-bit computer with a few hundred megabytes of RAM to start and work.
Lubuntu 21.04 comes with the following application updates:
- LXQt 0.16.0.
- LXQt Archiver 0.3.0 based on Engrampa.
- Qt 5.15.2
- VLC 3.0.12, for viewing media and listening to music.
- Featherpad 0.17.1, for notes and code editing.
- Discover Software Center 5.21.4, for an easy, graphical way to install and update software.
- The Update Notifier application adds the packages and versions to the tree view. Besides, and it has now a separate tree view for security updates.
Ubuntu Budgie provides the Budgie desktop environment developed by the Solus Project, which focuses on simplicity and elegance. It provides a traditional desktop metaphor-based interface utilizing a customizable panel-based menu-driven system desktop.
This distribution usually contains a huge change history for fixes and new features, with a wide selection of applets and layouts to customize my desktop, making it my favorite Ubuntu flavor. Ubuntu Budgie 21.04 comes with the following changes:
- Budgie Desktop has now been updated to version 10.5.2
- The first-ever Raspberry Pi 4 installation image.
- A new macOS-like style based on the WhiteSur theme and icons.
- Two new optional applets from the budgie developer community: budgie-clipboard-applet, and budgie-analogue-applet.
- A new darker theme as a default for the desktop look with a brand-new makeup for Pocillo icons.
- Two new Windows Shuffler capabilities:
- Window Rules: Add ability to set rules for specific applications on which position/size/monitor new windows should be launched.
- Layouts: Add the ability to launch and arrange a group of windows and/or applications in a single click.
- An updated Budgie Welcome app.
- Thunderbird and Deja-dup apps are now included by default in the ISO, as well as a lot of Printer drivers.
Ubuntu MATE is an official flavor of Ubuntu that expresses the simplicity of a classic desktop environment. Its main differentiation from Ubuntu is that it uses the Gnome 2 based MATE desktop environment as its default user interface, instead of the GNOME 3 desktop environment that is the default user interface for Ubuntu.
Highlights of Ubuntu MATE 21.04:
- Mate Desktop 1.24
- A new Yaru MATE theme and icons based on Ubuntu’s default theme.
- Updated Ayatana Indicators version.
- A new Printer Indicator.
- Several enhancements and bug fixes to the Minty desktop layout.
- Neofetch, htop, and inxi commands are now all included in the default Ubuntu MATE install.
Ubuntu Kylin is an official version of Ubuntu that specifically targets Chinese users, but it also supports all international languages that Ubuntu supports.
Ubuntu Kylin comes with the UKUI user interface based on the Mate desktop environment using QT language.
Although there is no official changelog on the distribution website or any information about the new 21.04 release, an installation image for the system is already available to download on Ubuntu servers, so it is expected that this version does not come with any major change, and it seems that developers limited themselves to fixing the existing bugs in the previous release and its stability improvement, in addition to what appears to be a new application that is added to this version which is the Kylin Assistant application that helps the user with cleaning its computer trash and cache, and show him some information about his PC.
Ubuntu Studio is the official flavor of Ubuntu aimed at content and multimedia makers, and it already contains many tools and installed programs for image editing, music production, design, and video editing...
The distribution was previously based on the Xfce desktop interface, but its developers decided to switch to KDE Plasma starting with this version, so Ubuntu Studio 21.04 is remarkably similar to the Kubuntu distribution, as it also comes with the KDE Plasma 5.21.4 interface, in addition to various updates to the distribution's default programs. And Due to the migration from XFCE Desktop to KDE Plasma, there is no direct way to upgrade from the previous version 20.10 to version 21.04.
Xubuntu is an elegant and easy-to-use community-maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system. The name Xubuntu is a portmanteau of Xfce and Ubuntu, as it uses the Xfce desktop environment which is a stable, light, and configurable desktop environment, instead of Ubuntu's GNOME desktop environment.
Xubuntu 21.04 comes with many new features and stability improvements, including:
- Xfce 4.16 desktop environment.
- The Hex Chat IRC client, and Synaptic package manager, and the full Adwaita icon theme are now included by default.
- A new “Minimal” install option is included in the ubiquity installer.
- Improved Translations.
- Updated keyboard shortcuts.
- The File System and removable device icons are no longer displayed on the desktop.
- The path bar is now used by default in the Thunar file manager, making it easier to navigate up paths.
So what's your favorite Ubuntu flavor? let us know in the comments section below.