Two years ago, we reported that Canonical’s design team and the Ubuntu desktop team were working on a new installer for Ubuntu. The installer will take advantage of technologies like Flutter, Curtin (designed to install Ubuntu quickly), and Subiquity (the Ubuntu Server installer and setup tool).

The main reason for developing a new set of installation procedures is the aging of existing technology. The desktop image files currently used by Ubuntu are still based on the Ubiquity installer, and Ubiquity was first launched in 2010. At the time, it had good functionality and moderate speed, but over time, Ubiquity is ancient. And the problems caused by the complex code base are exposed.

The time has come to 2023, two years after the original announcement, and with the upcoming Ubuntu 23.04 (Lunar Lobster), Canonical seems to be ready to deploy this newly developed installer for its Ubuntu system.

This new Flutter-based installer has been around for a while, but to try it out, users must download the daily builds of Ubuntu 23.04, which now uses the new installer by default instead of the old one with the GTK interface Ubiquity.

The new installer has a more modern and slightly more aesthetically pleasing user interface, other than that, the new installer starts up and doesn’t look too different from the old installer, and the installation flow and functionality are the same as the previous installer The procedure is also basically the same.

However, the new version of the installer has improved some options throughout the installation process and added some initial settings. The following picture is an example. Compared with the original language selection page, the new version better combines the keyboard layout selection with the language page instead of splitting it into two different selection pages.

Among the new settings, users can now choose whether to connect to a Wi-Fi network from the start, and choose to use a light or dark theme when installing the system.

You can choose a standard Ubuntu Linux desktop installation or a minimal installation, or you can choose to install it with proprietary graphics drivers and WiFi support, as well as additional multimedia codecs.

By default, Ubuntu 23.04 continues to use EXT4 as the file system choice. Considering that F2FS (Flash-Friendly File System) has become an important competitor of EXT4, and F2FS has been widely used. The new Ubuntu installer does not have an option for users to easily select F2FS. Although users can set it through the “Something else” area, it is relatively not so convenient and quick.

Originally Ubuntu had native Active Directory integration, and devices running Ubuntu could be joined to an Active Directory (AD) domain at installation time for centralized configuration. Active Directory administrators can manage Ubuntu devices and configure system settings from Active Directory domain controllers.

But there’s no Active Directory support in the new installer, and it’s unclear if Canonical will implement it before Ubuntu 23.04 is released. In addition, the function of downloading updates during the installation process is not yet available.

Finally, on the post-installation “Installation Complete” screen, the new installer now offers an option to shut down the system.

In general, compared with the previous Ubiquity installer, except for the huge changes in the bottom layer, the new version has relatively small changes that users can perceive during use.

This is currently the case with the latest Ubuntu 23.04 installer, which may see further improvements before its official release in April. If you want to try out the new installer, you can download the latest Ubuntu 23.04 nightly builds from here. Since this is a pre-release version of the OS, please think carefully before installing it on a production device.

More screenshots: