Next AnduinOS version?

[nmarques133]

Is there an ETA for when the next version of AnduinOS based on the new Ubuntu 26.04 LTS will be available? Sorry, just me being impatient.

Anyway, keep up the good work, you have made an excellent distro.

[Anduin2017]

Yes!! I'm currently working it!

Maybe in a month.

The new installer for the latest version of Ubuntu no longer uses Ubiquity; instead, it is Flutter-based. I have no intention of shipping that to the community. Meanwhile, Ubiquity simply cannot run on 26.04 anymore. I considered switching to Calamares (that Qt-based one), but pre-installing it would pull in an entire stack of extra Qt dependencies. I insist on keeping AnduinOS lightweight, and I really don't want a massive Qt footprint sitting inside a Gnome ecosystem. Because of this, the installer issue remains a roadblock for now.

You can test out the 1.5 nightly build here: https://anduinos-nightly-builds.aiursoft.com/1.5/
But I dare say it is going to be extremely buggy.

Because of these hurdles, I've had to develop a lot of custom modifications myself. This requires me to have much deeper control over the software. As you may know, all the software on AnduinOS currently comes directly from Ubuntu, which means I've had to completely rethink how I handle certain system changes. That’s why I’ve recently been developing Apkg, https://github.com/aiursoftweb/apkg —a package manager independent of Canonical that allows me to override upstream Ubuntu packages. However, this project is also still a work in progress.

I promise I haven't forgotten or abandoned this project! It's just that 26.04 introduced so many sweeping changes that I've had to take the time to untangle and reorganize everything.

That being said, I can promise a few things for the upcoming release:

• No more dirty scripts: 26.04 will no longer rely on messy bash scripts like do_anduinos_upgrade.
• Apt-driven modifications: All system changes will be strictly apt-based.
• Seamless conversion: I promise you will be able to turn a vanilla Ubuntu installation into AnduinOS simply by adding an extra apt repository and running apt upgrade.
• Custom repository: Ultimately, AnduinOS will have its own package repository, and all my custom tweaks will be distributed as proper packages.

Finally, the next release will likely move away from having a separate ISO for every language. Instead, there will be a single unified ISO that downloads language packs and input methods on the fly during installation, based on what the user selects. This should solve quite a few underlying problems as well.

[nmarques133]

Wow, I see you have your work cut out. :)

All I can say is you're doing a great job, and I cannot wait for it.

[VVDAOVV]

Hello, we will be able to upgrade from 1.4.2 to 1.5 ?

[nmarques133]

From what I read, you can't. But I could be wrong.

[Anduin2017]

Currently 1.5 is not released yet. Upgrade channel not available for now.

[RavinRay]

So I can order a ThinkPad with Ubuntu from Lenovo, and then effortlessly convert it to AnduinOS? Sweet!

[nmarques133]

It seems so, and that's why I am sticking to this Distro from now on. :)

[Anduin2017]

Yes!