Elementary OS Juno will be version 5.0, not 0.5

elementary os logo

elementary OS Juno is due this year

A new version of elementary OS arrives in the spring, and when it does it’ll have a number of significant new features and changes on offer.

Among them a small yet appreciable bump to the version number. Yes elementary OS 0.5 Juno will actually be elementary OS 5.0.

Previous releases of elementary OS are numbered 0.1, 0.2 and so on, with 0.4 being the most recent release. That trend won’t continue hereon-in; the next elementary OS release will in fact be version 5.0, and not 0.5 as many had expected.

Why the switch?

Meet Elementary 5.0 Juno

elementary os 5.0 screenshot

To be honest, I’ve no real idea why the elementary project decided to implement to version bump.

However, one imagines the jump has something to do with “5.0” sounding more like a proper release that “0.5.” The lower value of “0.5” kind of suggests that the OS is only halfway to a reaching a proper 1.0 milestone.

In its formative years, when it was little more than a theme and a dock app, a lower version number may have worked, but elementary OS is now a bona-fide Linux distro in its own right and regularly ranks in the top 10 on Distrowatch.

Elementary has more than earned a proper a version number, don’t you think?

elementary juno features & release date

Version bump aside you may be wondering what else to expect in elementary Juno, and when you can try it.

The elementary project adhere to the “release when ready” style of development. This means there is no firm elementary os Juno release date set. That said we do know that the release won’t arrive beforenthe Ubuntu 18.04 LTS release in mid-April.

As for the sort of new features and changes that will ship in elementary Juno — elementary is keeping its cards close to its chest. Certainly expect a round of critical improvements to the core application set, including the elementary App Center.

Elementary OS Juno is based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, the GNOME 3.28 platform, and the GTK 3.22 stack. This means there’ll be plenty of additional improvements on offer, including (much needed) support for newer versions of many popular third-party applications, modern GTK themes, and more.

What do you think?

I haven’t properly tried elementary OS since the Jupiter days, but I know many of you reading this are ardent elementary fans. Let me know what you think about the version bump in the comments below.

via WOGUE