The Release Schedule for Ubuntu 26.10 Stonking Stingray

Ubuntu has rolled out the release schedule for next 26.10, and even the 27.04 and 27.10 releases.

Ubuntu 26.10, code-name Stonking Stingray, is scheduled to be released on October 15, 2026. Here are the dates for major events as planned before the final release.

Image by Axel Schäfer from Pixabay

Ubuntu 26.10 is a short term release with 9-month support. If everything goes well, it will feature GNOME 51 desktop and perhaps kernel 7.3 according to the history kernel release interval.

And, according to this thread, 26.10 will probably include AI features that will not enable by default and can be disabled during setup. For more features of Ubuntu 26.10, keep an eye on the ongoing release note page.

Ubuntu 26.10 Release Schedule

The developer team has uploaded the toolchain (e.g., GCC, binutils, glibc) and started building new packages for 26.10 since April 30.

The table below includes the major Ubuntu 26.10 and GNOME 51 development events.

NOTE: GNOME 51 is developed by another team, not Ubuntu.

June 27, 2026	GNOME 51 Alpha
August 1, 2026	GNOME 51 Beta
August 20, 2026	26.10 Feature Freeze, Debian Import Freeze
August 29, 2026	GNOME 51 RC
September 12, 2026	GNOME 51 Stable
September 24, 2026	26.10 Beta
October 01, 2026	Kernel Feature Freeze
October 08, 2026	26.10 Final Freeze
October 15, 2026	26.10 Final Release

According to the last few Ubuntu dev circles, there will be probably 4 monthly snapshot releases, e.g., snapshot 1 in May, snapshot 2 in June, snapshot 3 in July, and snapshot 4 in August. They are however NOT mentioned in the release schedule so far.

For more, see the official Ubuntu 26.10 release schedule, which also includes the 27.04 and 27.10 release plan in “Future Releases” section in left side-bar. And, see release calendar for the schedule of GNOME Desktop.

source https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2026/05/the-release-schedule-for-ubuntu-26-10-stonking-stingray/