Linux Mint 22.3, code-name Zena, is available to download after almost one month of beta testing.

The new version of this popular Ubuntu 24.04 LTS based distribution features Kernel 6.14, Cinnamon Desktop 6.6.4, redesigned start menu (aka application menu), and new tool to configure the boot menu.

First, the Cinnamon application menu has been redesigned with modern new layout. It features a full height left-bar displays user avatar, folders, Settings, favorite apps, and power buttons.

User has the choice to hide any of them, including the whole side-bar. And, the power buttons (power-off, log-out, and screen lock) can be placed to along side the search box.

Cinnamon Application Menu in Linux Mint 22.3

The categories now use new XApp Symbolic Icons, though there’s also option to disable to restore the previous full color icons. And, they are now compact and full displayed without needing a scroll-bar.

Linux Mint 22.3 introduced new System Information tool, which merged the previous “System Info”, “System Reports”, and “Error Reports” into tabs, and added new info about your computer devices, including:

• USB – displays all plugged-in devices, as well as their types, names, and IDs.
• GPU – shows information about the default graphics card and the status of hardware acceleration support.
• PCI – with detailed look of internal computer components, and their bus IDs, device names, and drivers.
• BIOS – shows the information about the motherboard, BIOS version, boot mode (UEFI or legacy boot), and secure-boot enabled or not.

This version also introduced new System Administration app, allowing to configure the boot menu, aka Grub boot-loader.

With it, you may choose whether to show the boot menu or not, configure how long the menu being displayed before booting the default entry, and select to remember and boot the last choice. As well, it supports adding/editing Kernel and boot parameters.

The Nemo file manager in this version added new Document Templates setting page in its Preferences dialog. It allows to open any files as templates, so that they will be available in the “Create New Document” context menu options, to quickly create documents with templates.

The feature does the same as you manually create template files in user’s Templates folder, though it’s great for beginners who don’t know about it.

The new version also redesigned the Keyboard settings dialog. The Layouts tab now supports adding both keyboard layouts and input methods, and, it provides options to configure keyboard shortcuts to switch layout, and allows to remember the last layout used for each window.

And, the advanced layout options to such as Ctrl, Alt, Caps Lock position or behavior, have been moved the new “XKB Options” tab.

Other changes in Linux Mint 22.3 include:

• Option to move Cinnamon Application Menu’s search box to top or bottom.
• Update keyboard handling to fully compatible with Wayland.
• Redesigned on-screen keyboard (OSK) to work natively on Cinnamon.
• Ability to pause/resume file operations, such as copy’n’paste and move.
• Shows badge number in app icons for new, unread or pending information.
• New configuration tool for Thunderbolt.
• Add “always on” option for Night Light.
• Add suspend to battery-critical actions.
• Ability to pause/resume Timeshift during snapshots.
• Add IPv6 and send text messages support for Warpinator.

For more about Linux Mint 22.3, see the official release note.

Download or Upgrade to Linux Mint 22.3

The official .iso images are not ready at the moment of writing, though it will be available soon via the link below:

If you can’t wait, many download mirrors has updated with new 22.3 iso images, just choose one that near to you.

For Linux Mint 22.2, simply launch Update Manager, update the app itself, then you can go to “Edit -> Upgrade to “Linux Mint 22.3 Zena”” to start upgrading to Mint 22.3.