Ubuntu 22.04 Review

Ubuntu 22.04 is out and ready for download. If you have come across this article, you may be wary of installing Ubuntu 22.04 just yet. Indeed, this is the latest version of Ubuntu, and it has a lot of shiny features, but it introduces some problems, too.

In this guide, we will be reviewing the new Ubuntu 22.04 release. We will look at its pros and cons, so you can make a decision on if it would be the right system for you. We will also compare Ubuntu 22.04 against some of its competitors, since there are many other Linux distros to choose from. Read on to learn about the positives and negatives of Ubuntu 22.04.

In this tutorial you will learn:

  • The pros and cons of Ubuntu 22.04
  • How does Ubuntu 22.04 compare to other Linux distributions
Ubuntu 22.04 Review
Ubuntu 22.04 Review
Software Requirements and Linux Command Line Conventions
Category Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used
System Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish
Software N/A
Other Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command.
Conventions # – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command
$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user

Ubuntu 22.04 Review – Pros and Cons




Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish is the latest LTS (long term support) release of the operating system. Before adopting the new version, many users want to know how it stacks up against previous Ubuntu versions and against Linux distros from other developers. Well, we have done the dirty work for you. We have run Ubuntu 22.04 for months now, and can tell you all the good and bad things we have found while using it.

Ubuntu 22.04 – Pros

  • Ubuntu’s sleek look
  • NVIDIA hardware support
  • Simple installation
  • Game performance
  • Easy to use with peripherals like printer and bluetooth
  • Ready to use out of the box

Ubuntu’s Look

Let’s start with something that is immediately obvious when you load into Ubuntu 22.04 – the look. The default Ubuntu edition ships with a newly revamped version of GNOME. The new version of GNOME has better settings with regards to colors and themes, including dark theme. The new dark theme is better respected across desktop applications and adheres to a standard of colors that make more sense.

We think the dark theme looks pretty slick. Check the screenshot below and see what you think.

Dark mode on Ubuntu 22.04 GNOME
Dark mode on Ubuntu 22.04 GNOME

There is also a new version of the Yaru GTK theme with a new option to choose an accent colour. This is a welcomed change that gives you more customization options as compared to previous versions of Ubuntu.

Changing the accent color for the Yaru theme on Ubuntu 22.04
Changing the accent color for the Yaru theme on Ubuntu 22.04



Support for Nvidia Cards

Ubuntu 22.04 supports all the latest NVIDA video cards. It also gives users several different ways of installing the driver. This is good news for those that are worried about hardware compatibility when migrating to Linux, or for gamers that want to get the most performance out of their rig.

It is possible to install either the proprietary or open source Nouveau video driver by following our tutorial on How to install the NVIDIA drivers on Ubuntu 22.04.

Simple Installation

Ubuntu 22.04 is easy to install and the process is very user friendly. This newest version has a redesigned insallation interface that was created using Google’s Flutter UI development kit.

The installation prompts include options to encrypt your hard drive, use ZFS as your file system, and join Active Directory. These are things that many other distros and older versions of Ubuntu forced users to configure after installation. Having the options available during installation streamlines your setup and makes things much easier.

Ubuntu 22.04 – Cons

  • Slower than previous version
  • Snap is lackluster
  • Unexpected errors due to it being a recent release

Every operating system has some drawbacks, and Ubuntu 22.04 is no exception. The trick is to find a system that has drawbacks which would least affect you. Check out our list below to see if any of these negatives would be a dealbreaker for you.

It’s Slower

Ubuntu 22.04 is unmistakably slower than its predecessor, Ubuntu 20.04. This can be confirmed with the systemd-analyze command in terminal, which reveals a slower boot up time of 10-20 seconds on our test systems. This could be due to increased Snap package integration (more on that next) or maybe the switch to Wayland as the window manager.

Either way, there are many better choices in the Linux world if you care about a speedy system. Longtime Ubuntu users will inevitably be annoyed to “upgrade” to a slower operating system version.

Snap Is Taking Over

The Snap package manager is becoming more prominent, and the latest version of Ubuntu highlights this more than ever. Firefox is now installed as a Snap by default, and no deb package exists from the official repositories. You have to manually uninstall the Firefox snap, then download the Firefox installer from the official site in order to replace it.

The Snap version of Firefox is significantly slower, which seems to be a common theme among most Snap packages when compared to their deb counterparts. The mission of Snap makes sense – to enable installation of software on any Linux distro – but in practice, the results have been less than stellar.




Not only is Snap slow, but it also updates your packages for you, on a preconfigured schedule which is impossible to disable. While that could be a good thing, it ultimately leaves the user with less freedom, which goes against the core principle of Linux in the first place.

Furthermore, Snap packages operate in a sandbox environment which makes it tough to integrate with the rest of the system. An example would be the dark mode theme from your GUI settings not being recognized by whatever Snap software you’re running, since it would not be able to access this inforamtion outside of its security sandbox.

Closing Thoughts

In this review of Ubuntu 22.04, we saw the pros and cons of the new operating system. While Ubuntu 22.04 offers some positive aesthetic changes, it could use some improvement under the hood. In particular, the sluggish performance and Snap takeover (whether the user likes it or not) are undermining an otherwise sleek, intuitive operating system. We would still recommend Ubuntu 22.04 for most users, and hope that its few drawbacks will be addressed in future updates.