{"id":182450,"date":"2025-08-10T21:52:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T21:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/?p=182450"},"modified":"2025-08-10T22:18:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T22:18:34","slug":"linux-mint-22-2-zara-enters-public-beta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/linux-mint-22-2-zara-enters-public-beta\/","title":{"rendered":"Linux Mint 22.2 \u201cZara\u201d Enters Public Beta"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Linux Mint 22.2 \u201cZara\u201d is now available for public beta testing as of today, giving users an early look at what\u2019s coming in the next point release. The beta is based on Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS<\/a> and ships with a newer Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel for broader device support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the foundation, Mint 22.2 adopts Linux kernel 6.14<\/a> HWE, which should improve compatibility with recent CPUs, GPUs, Wi-Fi adapters, and storage controllers compared to the 6.8 kernel used in 22.1. This aligns the distro more closely with Ubuntu\u2019s LTS enablement stack while preserving Mint\u2019s desktop focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the headline additions of the upcoming Zara release is native fingerprint authentication via a new in-house tool called Fingwit. Once enrolled, fingerprints can be used to log in, unlock the screen, run sudo<\/code>, and approve admin dialogs (pkexec<\/code>)\u2014a real quality-of-life boost for laptops with built-in readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the desktop side, Cinnamon v6.4.8 gains better Wayland readiness, with work aimed at input methods and keyboard layouts so day-to-day usage is smoother in sessions where Wayland is enabled. As of today, however, Cinnamon remains mainly X11-first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Linux<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the aesthetics side, the default Mint-Y theme picks up a cooler, steely-blue tint that modernizes the gray base without abandoning Mint\u2019s recognizable look. Additionally, accent-color support and improved libAdwaita\/Flatpak compatibility help GNOME\/GTK4 apps blend better with the rest of the desktop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cinnamon\u2019s application launcher is also being revamped with a cleaner layout, an expanded side panel that shows full names for pinned apps and standard home folders, and relocated session controls. As always, Cinnamon\u2019s menu applet choices remain flexible for those who prefer alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the hood and around the edges, you can expect the usual round of refinements across Mint\u2019s XApps and tooling, plus editions updated to current desktops (Cinnamon, Xfce, and MATE) packaged for the 22.2 base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once released, Linux Mint 22.2 “Zara,” like the rest of the 22.x series, inherits long-term support to 2029, keeping it a safe choice for users who value stability. If you’re eager to try it, the public beta is live now with ISOs available for download from Mint’s mirrors<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, given how things usually go with Mint, the beta phase typically runs for about three to four weeks of public testing. In other words, assuming no major snags show up, we can reasonably expect the final stable release sometime by late August\u2014or, at the latest, early September.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linux Mint 22.2 \u201cZara\u201d is now in public beta, offering users an early look at new features and improvements before the final release.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":182453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5],"tags":[84,4359,5618],"class_list":["post-182450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-os","category-news","tag-cinnamon","tag-linux-mint","tag-linux-mint-22"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}