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How to run the future "Snappy-Only" Ubuntu. Today.
The future of Ubuntu arrives in 2024. But you can take it for a spin right now.
Bryan Lunduke
July 03, 2023
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We recently learned that Ubuntu is planning to move to an entirely Snap-based, immutable system some time in 2024.

Well, that future "Snappy-only Ubuntu" isn't merely theoretical.  It is far enough along that you can take it for a test drive.  Right now.

How to run Snappy-Only Ubuntu Core

Taking this for a test drive is pretty doggone simple:

  1. Go to the Ubuntu Core build page on GitHub.
  2. Click on a recent "build-image".
  3. At the very bottom of that page, you'll find an IMAGE.ZIP file.  Download it.
  4. Extract that IMAGE.ZIP file and flash it to a thumb drive.  Or fire it up in a Virtual Machine.  Or however you'd like to try this bad-mama-jama out.

Just be prepared: You will encounter bugs.

What we know

A few interesting points worth noting about this "Snappy-Only Ubuntu":

  • Canonical / Ubuntu are shipping a number of new applications, and focusing on developing them with Flutter -- the UI toolkit from Google.  Not with GTK.  This includes a brand new, Flutter-based Terminal.
  • A new (again, Flutter-based) application called "Workshops" allows you to choose what containers to launch based on different distributions.
  • Can run multiple different versions of the same (or different) desktop environments on the same system.  Each sandboxed.
  • Built on top of the 22.04 Long Term Support release of Ubuntu.  In theory this would change to the latest Long Term Support version when that happens.
  • This truly is Snap Only.  There is no apt here.  Which, I suppose, is kinda the point.
  • These builds are buggy and not yet ready for daily usage.  But it's interesting to see where the future of Ubuntu is headed.

So many Snappy Questions

At this point there are a number of questions about how this Snappy-Only Ubuntu is going to roll out:

  1. When will it release?  Rumor has it currently as making a debut in April of 2024.  But nothing firm.
  2. Will it become the default Ubuntu?  Again, no firm answer there... but the "word on the street" is that, eventually, yes.  This is what Ubuntu will become.  But not at first.  The first release will likely be an optional thing.  Much like how Ubuntu handled the switch to the Unity Desktop (optional for a few releases... then default).
  3. Will there be any support for APT or Flatpak or other package formats?  Currently... the answer appears to be no.
  4. What will performance and daily usage be like?  It is difficult to evaluate the current builds (as they are a tad buggy).  But, considering the problems with Snap packaged applications in current Ubuntu releases (such as Firefox performance issues, access to printing resources, etc.) one has to wonder what using a 100% Snappy system will be like in practice.

Screenshots are cool

Here are some shots of both the new terminal and, most interestingly, the new "Workshops" application -- which will be central to usage of this new, future version of Ubuntu.

This is "Workshops".  A flutter-based application for starting containers based on different distributions.  Note the gigantic "Ubuntu" button.

 

Once you've selected a container in "Workshops", you can then choose what that container has access to on your system. Most notably: sound, the GPU, and your home directory.

 

This is the new Flutter-based Ubuntu Terminal.

Copyright © 2023 by Bryan Lunduke.  All rights reserved.  The contents of this article are licensed under the terms of The Lunduke Content Usage License.

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