I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ubuntu might be about to change for good.
Not a new wallpaper kind of change. More like, you will not be able to install things the way you do now.
Canonical has restarted work on Ubuntu Core Desktop. It is a locked down, all-snap version of Ubuntu. And they want it to become the default Ubuntu. They already call the Ubuntu we use today "Classic Ubuntu." That name kind of gives it away, no? :)
Are we supposed to panic? I don't think so. But I do think we should look at it honestly before it lands in 27.04, which is about 6 months away.
So I went through the details. I am Taqui, I build web apps with Next.js and TypeScript, mostly full-stack stuff. One of my side projects is Wryte, a small AI blog writer I made for myself. So I read announcements like this with a normal user hat on, not an admin hat. Here is what I found.
Quick background
Ubuntu Core is not new. Canonical made it in 2015 for IoT, robots and industrial devices. Stuff you install once and never touch again. It worked well there.
Desktop was different. In 2023 they showed a first preview of Core Desktop. It was supposed to come in 2024, then it went quiet for 2 years.
Why? Their engineering chief John Seager said the preview was not good enough. They put almost the whole desktop in one giant base snap. That makes updates huge and swapping parts very hard.
That is just bad engineering, I guess they were in a hurry to show something.
Now a new team is splitting it into small pieces. Daily builds in the next few weeks.
Canonical actually posted the official announcement on Discourse here: Accelerating Ubuntu Core Desktop. It calls Core Desktop the most fundamental shift in Ubuntu desktop architecture so far. That post is where they explain the new split snap design.
How does it work
On normal Ubuntu, sudo apt update writes directly into your system folders. The OS changes itself.
On Core Desktop, the system is immutable. Read-only. That means the core cannot be broken by a bad package.
Think Lego, not like a recipe. There are 6 main blocks:
- gadget snap - bootloader, partitions, TPM encryption
- kernel snap - kernel and drivers
- boot base - minimal root filesystem
- snapd - updates and rollback
- system snaps - wifi, bluetooth, audio, power
- desktop and app snaps - GNOME / KDE and every app you install
Each snap is a compressed read-only file. Your home folder is separate and writable. If an update breaks, it rolls back on reboot.
Source: Inside Ubuntu Core docs
What I like about this is it is simple to explain. Want to update network without touching kernel? You can. That part makes sense to me.
How is this different from Fedora Silverblue
Silverblue and NixOS already do immutable stuff. But they are not beginner friendly. You have to learn RPM-OSTree, image layering, wikis, etc. Just to install something.
Core Desktop is trying to do the same thing, but with snaps, which Ubuntu users already know. So install feels familiar. That is the whole point, I think. Less learning curve.
So you cannot apt install?
Yes. That is the big one.
No sudo apt install on the host. No .deb packages on the base. No flatpak on the host either.
If it is not in the Snap Store, you are stuck. Even Canonical says this is the biggest problem right now.
So they are pushing three use cases for 27.04:
1. Browser focused PCs
Firefox and Chromium already work as snaps. Most of us live in the browser anyway, so for a lot of people this might already be enough.
2. Developer PCs
If the host is read-only, how do you code? Canonical says use containers. With LXD, Docker or their Workshop tool you can run a container in one command and inside you can apt install anything. Your app still shows on the desktop.
This part feels familiar to me, since I ship Next.js apps from a containerised setup myself sometimes. I get why they do it. It just does not feel as normal as installing directly. Not yet, at least.
3. Gaming PCs
They spent over a year on the Steam snap, with Proton and Mesa drivers inside. For Nvidia, there is a new gpu-2604 interface to deliver drivers via snaps.
Also, because kernel is a snap, you could switch to a gaming kernel in one command. That would be cool if it works.
And flavors? GNOME is not the only one. KDE, Budgie, MATE can all be swapped because the desktop is separate from the base. Canonical is already working with KDE on KDE Neon Core. Each snap has stable, candidate, beta, edge channels, so you could keep the base stable and test desktop on edge. That part I actually like :)
What happens to Classic Ubuntu
They say Classic Ubuntu is not going away yet. There is still a Debian team maintaining debs.
But John Seager also said his long term plan is to make Core the default for desktop, server and edge. For companies and governments that makes a lot of sense. They can deploy thousands of identical locked machines with up to 15 years support.
If that is where the money is, and best engineers move there, I think Classic will slowly fade. That is how Ubuntu has always moved - enterprise first, desktop follows.
My worry
For enterprise this is great. For people who like to tinker, it puts a wall between you and the machine.
One tester tried Core Desktop on a Steam Deck. Battery was bad, he wanted TLP and to edit a systemd file. On normal Ubuntu that is 10 seconds. On Core he was locked out.
Another tester, William, said the installer forced Ubuntu One login and TPM encryption. No choice. Once you are in, you cannot unsnap the OS or install debs on host. He said it felt more closed than Windows.
I get it. When everything is read-only, that Linux tinkering spirit goes away a bit. That is the part that worries me.
I am someone who sets up my PC once, installs my main apps, and never changes anything. For me, tiny updates that never break sound perfect. In theory it sounds great.
But I also started with Ubuntu because I could open a terminal and fix things myself. That freedom mattered.
Final thoughts
Core Desktop is not replacing Classic tomorrow. But the direction is clear. Canonical wants immutable, snap-first, enterprise-shaped. That is their future.
I do not know if it is good or bad yet. We will know when we actually try it.
So what do you think? Are you staying for this, or are you already packing for Debian or Mint? :)
If you want to read more, the Inside Ubuntu Core docs are actually readable, even for desktop users. And the official Accelerating Ubuntu Core Desktop thread on Ubuntu Discourse is the best place to follow daily builds. Worth a look :)
I'm Taqui, full-stack dev from India building web products with Next.js and TypeScript. I post what I'm learning here and on my portfolio at taqui.in. If this helped, say hi in the comments :)
