Linux Mint 21.2 Release Improves The Visual Redesign Further
Linux Mint 21.1 was packed with visual overhauls to the theme, folder icons, and the overall look and feel of the system.
Now, Linux Mint 21.2 has enhancements on top of the same Ubuntu 22.04 base and Linux Kernel 5.15.
Linux Mint 21.2: What's New? 😀
With Linux Mint 21.2, some of those changes have been refined along with new GUI overhauls and additions across the board.
Let me mention the key highlights of the release:
Cinnamon 5.8, Xfce 4.18, and others
GUI overhaul for the Software Manager
Folder icons and color selection
New "Styles" to easily tweak appearance
Improved login screen
📋 Linux Mint 21.2 will receive updates until 2027.
Desktop Environment Upgrades
The star of the upgrade is Cinnamon 5.8, the flagship edition of Linux Mint.
While it includes many improvements, some worth mentioning include gesture support for window management, workspace management, tiling, and media controls. You can find these working on touchpads, tablets, and touchscreens through a new "Gestures" option in the system settings.
The notifications and tooltips have also been improved to use the accent color set and look bigger/clearer.
In addition to the Cinnamon enhancements, you can find Xfce 4.18 with all the goodies. We have a dedicated article on Xfce 4.18 changes if you want to explore more.
And the other variant, with MATE 1.26 desktop, may not be as exciting as other editions, but you still get the fresh mint update.
Software Manager Visual Overhaul
The software manager for Linux Mint has always been simple.
This time, the layout has been adjusted for easy access to options and to provide a cleaner user experience. Starting with the search bar moved to the left side of the window.
The categories on the main page have been shifted down, and more information is available (for instance, the applications via Flathub).
It is also easier to select between the system package and Flatpak for an app next to the installation option. The option existed nearby the details section previously.
Here's a glimpse of what it looked like with Linux Mint 21.1:
Folder Coloring Gets Better
With Linux Mint 21.1, you can also change the accent color of the folder stripes, which looks like this:
Now, you are no longer limited to solid colors. You can choose from gradients and solid colors for folders and apply them entirely on the folder icon.
Not to forget, the stripes on the folder icons were dropped. So, it looks much cleaner, in my opinion.
Styles to Tweak Theme
With Cinnamon 5.8, a new setting, "Styles," was introduced to make it seamless for you to tweak the look and feel of the system.
Not to forget, you get more color variants to choose from and an intuitive menu to choose the style.
While this aims to simplify appearance tweaks, you can still head to "Advanced Settings" to access and configure icons and other themes separately.
Improved Slick Greeter
The login screen experience gets better with multiple keyboard layout support.
You can find more options from the keyboard icon on the login screen. The slick-greeter now supports Wayland sessions and should be better at touchpad detection.
Not to forget, the keyboard navigation has been worked on to let you easily type/edit/view the password in the login area.
⭐ Other Important Changes
Several other subtle changes make the Linux Mint experience "mintier". Some of those include:
Removing monochrome icons and dark theme icons to replace them with symbolic icons for uniform contrast
Re-aligned title bar buttons
Security hardening work for Warpinator
Mint-Y-Legacy was renamed Mint-L
Full support for HEIF and AVIF image files.
Updated applications like Blueman and Pix
Explore more technical details on its official announcement blog post
Download Linux Mint 21.2 📥
Linux Mint 21.2 ISOs can be found on its official website.
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