Ubuntu 25.10 Drops Xorg Support for GNOME, Embraces Wayland Exclusively

2025-06-10
Ubuntu 25.10 Drops Xorg Support for GNOME, Embraces Wayland Exclusively

Ubuntu 25.10, codenamed "Questing Quokka," is making a significant change: the default GNOME desktop will exclusively use Wayland, dropping support for Xorg. This isn't a sudden decision; GNOME is phasing out Xorg support, and Canonical is proactively adapting. This allows users and developers a full release cycle to adjust before the next LTS, Ubuntu 26.04, arrives next year. The move is driven by Wayland's maturity, improved Nvidia driver support, better touchscreen and high-DPI display handling, and a simplification of development by avoiding maintaining two display servers. While some users rely on Xorg, it won't disappear entirely; it can still be installed and used with other desktop environments. Most X11 applications will continue to function via XWayland.

Development