Introduction

These release notes for Kubuntu 18.04.1 LTS (Bionic Beaver) provide an overview of the release and document the known issues.

Support lifespan

Kubuntu 18.04.1 will be supported for 3 years.

Getting Kubuntu 18.04.1 LTS

Upgrading from 17.10	Download a Disk Image
Note: Upgrades from 16.04 LTS will not be enabled until a few days after the 18.04.1 release expected in late July. Detailed upgrade instructions with screenshots can be found here: Kubuntu 17.10 to 18.04.1 Upgrade	- Download a Bootable image. Direct downloads, torrents, and zysnc are available as options. - The following link contains some tips to put the image onto a DVD or USB Drive

New features and changes in 18.04.1

Core desktop and applications

Embrace the dark side with Plasma 5.12 LTS: simple by default, powerful when needed

Plasma 5.12 LTS, the latest release of KDE's desktop has been developed to make it smoother to use while retaining the familiar setup.

Plasma Vault, for creating and managing encrypted folders seamlessly in Plasma, also arrives in the Ubuntu archive with this release.

KDE Applications 17.12.3

Kubuntu comes with KDE Applications 17.12 containing all your favourite apps from KDE.

Provided is the 17.12.3 update with bugfixes and translation updates. All the KDE applications on the ISO have been ported to KDE Frameworks 5 and any remaining in the archive that aren't should fit in seamlessly.

Web browser and office suite

Firefox 61 is the default browser (Updated from 59 in 18.04.0).
LibreOffice 6.0 is provided by default in the full installation.

Other applications

New KDE applications in the Ubuntu archive

latte-dock 0.7.4 - Now in the Ubuntu archive
Falkon 3.0.0 - (was Qupzilla) Now in the Ubuntu archive
kio-gdrive - Enables KIO-aware applications (such as Dolphin, Kate or Gwenview) to access and edit Google Drive files on the cloud.
peruse - KDE comic reader is available to install

Updated applications

Krita 4.0.1 - Artists can enjoy the latest current version of KDE's leading digital painting application. Available in the archive.
Kstars 2.9.4 - Latest version (at time of final freeze) of KDE's desktop planetarium and astronomy aid.
Amarok 2.90 - While Amarok is not currently our default music player, the recent bugfix release of the KDE4 based 2.x version is available in the Ubuntu archive.
KDEConnect 1.3.0 provided is the latest version at time of release.

Other notable changes to applications since 16.04 LTS

VLC now replaces Dragonplayer as our default media player.
Muon package manager is now shipped by default once again, as an alternative to Plasma Discover.
KTorrent has been updated to the Qt5/KF5 version 5.1.
Cantata Qt5 music player replaces the KDE4 based Amarok as our default. This is a Music Player Daemon frontend, so configuration & usage may be unfamiliar. Most users will want to select the 'basic single user setup' in the first run wizard.
Telepathy instant messaging client has been dropped from our defaults as it is no longer maintained upstream, and it has numerous issues. This is still available in the archive to install.
The installer no longer offers the encrypted home option using ecryptfs-utils. It is recommended to use full-disk encryption instead for this release. (BUG:1756840)

Kubuntu switches to a dark Breeze Plasma theme

Plasma theme is based on Breeze dark - Named 'Kubuntu' in Desktop Theme settings.
Desktop applications remain using the Breeze light theme for better integration with many common applications.
A Kubuntu 'look-and-feel' option is provided, so users can easily switch back and forth between Kubuntu's scheme, and the default KDE full Breeze light and dark.

Important default settings changes

Double-click is now default to open files. To change back to single-click: Systemsettings: Mouse Controls
Baloo desktop search and file indexer - default changed to basic indexing only (not file content). Full content indexing can be turned on in Systemsettings: Workspace: Search

Minimal install option

This is now available in the installer for Kubuntu.

For Kubuntu this removes KDE PIM applications, Libreoffice, Cantata and mpd, plus some additional internet and media applications. At present a full Plasma Desktop is left in place, plus basic applications and utilities. Firefox as a browser, and VLC as a media player, are also retained.

Snap integration in Plasma Discover software centre

For the 18.04 initial release, the snap integration backend for Plasma Discover is not installed by default. Users wishing to use or test should install the package plasma-discover-snap-backend.

User feedback is requested from those who use or test this integration, so we can evaluate whether to install the backend by default for upcoming 18.04 point releases.

Feedback links are at the end of these release notes.

Other highlights/notes

Plasma Wayland session - Can be installed for testing, but is not supported for 18.04

A Plasma Wayland session can be be made available for testing by installing the package plasma-workspace-wayland , however this is not supported. Users needing a stable desktop experience should select the normal 'Plasma' (without Wayland) option at login.

Known Problems

KDE Bug:

(KDE Bug:392775) systemsettings - second subcategory list you navigate to has incorrect colors for the top entry

Ubuntu/Kubuntu bugs:

(1766843) obsolete openjdk-11-policytool.desktop file is still installed - gives error when users try to launch from menu

Search other Bugs tagged Kubuntu 18.04

Older bugs:

(1442512) Apport-kde crash when reporting bugs
(1706859) Auto-selected keyboard layout no longer matches chosen region on "Where are you" page

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