Canonical announced today the first point release of the long-term supported Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) operating system series, which will be supported for five years with security and software updates.

Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS is the first of five scheduled point releases that Canonical plans to release for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver), and it includes all the latest software and security updates that were published on the official repositories since April 26, 2018, when Ubuntu 18.04 LTS was unveiled.

Unfortunately, Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS doesn't bring an updated kernel, nor graphics stacks because there's no new Ubuntu version to backport them from. Ubuntu 18.10 (Cosmic Cuttlefish) is still in development, due for release on October 18, 2018, and it's currently running the same kernel and graphics stack as Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

The Ubuntu Server is the star of this first point release as it introduces an improved installer with support for configuring LVM, RAID, VLAN, and Bonds. The rest of the official flavors, including the Ubuntu Desktop only received updated packages, which makes this point release a stability and bugfix release.

”As usual, this point release includes many updates, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS,” said Adam Conrad.

Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS is now available to download for all flavors

The Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS point release is now available to download for all official flavors, including Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Budgie, and Ubuntu Kylin. While Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS comes as Desktop and Live Server editions only for 64-bit systems, the rest of the flavors are supported on both 32-bit and 64-bit PCs.

However, you should download the Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS point release only if you plan on upgrading machines running a previous Ubuntu version to the long-term supported Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) series by doing a fresh install or simply install Ubuntu 18.04 LTS on new machines.

Otherwise, all existing Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) users are urged to update their installations using the "sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade" command in the Terminal app. If you regularly update your Ubuntu 18.04 LTS computer, then you're already running the Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS point release.