First Ubuntu 26.10 “Stonking Stingray” Snapshot Now Available for Download

First Ubuntu 26.10 “Stonking Stingray” Snapshot Now Available for Download

Canonical has published the inaugural monthly snapshot ISO of Ubuntu 26.10, giving early adopters and application developers a first look at the upcoming “Stonking Stingray” release ahead of its October 15th debut.

By Linux Tech Report Staff  ·  May 31, 2026  ·  4 min read

Canonical officially announced the release of the first snapshot ISO images for Ubuntu 26.10, codenamed “Stonking Stingray,” on May 29, 2026. The announcement was made by Utkarsh Gupta on behalf of the Ubuntu Release Team via the ubuntu-devel mailing list. The images are available for early adopters, application developers, and the general public who wish to begin testing against the new toolchain ahead of the final release.

What’s in Snapshot 1?

Because the development cycle is still in its earliest stage, the first snapshot is naturally built on top of Ubuntu 26.04 LTS “Resolute Raccoon,” which shipped on April 23, 2026. As a result, this initial image ships with Linux Kernel 7.0 and the GNOME 50 desktop environment — the same versions found in the LTS release.

The Ubuntu development team uploaded the core toolchain — including updated versions of GCC, binutils, and glibc — to the 26.10 archive on April 30, 2026, just one week after Ubuntu 26.04 LTS shipped. These foundational build tools set the baseline that all package maintainers build against as the cycle progresses.

What to Expect as Development Progresses

Over the six-month development cycle, Ubuntu 26.10 will steadily incorporate newer upstream components. The most anticipated upgrades include the GNOME 51 desktop environment and Linux Kernel 7.2, both expected to land in late August 2026 ahead of the feature freeze milestone.

Other notable component upgrades expected by the final release include the Mesa 26.2 graphics stack and the GCC 16.1 compiler, along with a wide range of toolchain and library updates. Canonical has also indicated that Ubuntu 26.10 may include optional AI integration features that will be disabled by default and can be turned off during initial setup.

Up to four monthly snapshot ISO builds are planned between May and August — giving testers a regular opportunity to track progress without waiting for the formal Beta. These snapshots carry no support guarantees but serve as a valuable window into the release’s evolution.

Release Schedule

A Word of Caution

Ubuntu 26.10 is an interim (non-LTS) release, meaning it will receive software and security updates for nine months, until June 2027. It targets users who prioritize access to the latest technologies over long-term stability. For users who require a stable, long-supported platform, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS remains the recommended choice.

Download

The first snapshot ISOs for all official Ubuntu flavors (excluding the amd64 Desktop image) are available via the official announcement page on the ubuntu-devel mailing list:

Images are hosted at cdimage.ubuntu.com under the /releases/26.10/snapshot-1/ path for each respective flavor. Daily development ISOs are also available at cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live for those who want the absolute latest builds.