Ubuntu to release 15.04 'Vivid Vervet' on 23 April: What's new?

Canonical will officially release the latest Ubuntu 15.04 Vivid Vervet open source operating system, to users across the world from 23 April. Ubuntu 15.04 incorporates multiple updates across operating platforms and devices including mobiles, desktops, the cloud and Internet of Things (IoT).

For users of the Aquaris E4.5, which is the first Ubuntu-powered smartphone to go on sale, Ubuntu 15.04 will be delivered as an OTA update.

Users can download the latest operating system via Ubuntu's official web portal.

Platform-wise feature list offered by Ubuntu 15.04:

For desktop:

The Ubuntu Developer Tools Centre will enabling developers of mobile apps, web applications and games, with support on 14 new platforms including:

• Android NDK and Android Studio has been updated to the latest release
• Other new IDEs: IDEA (ultimate and community editions), pycharm (professional, educational and community editions), webstorm, rubymine, phpstorm and eclipse
• Firefox developer edition
• Stencyl game development platform

LibreOffice 4.4 brings increased business productivity, including the addition of improved change tracking to Writer, enhanced mail merge performance and improved shapes which can now have fully formatted content with tables. Support for digitally signed PDF exports is a new addition with 15.04, as it supports connections to Sharepoint and OneDrive.

Other updates include:

• Addition of statistics functions in Calc and password protected documents in Impress
• Improved OpenGL
• Support for slide transitions in Impress and Draw

For IoT:

The 'Snappy' Ubuntu Core is the smallest and most secure edition of Ubuntu. It is an updated version of Ubuntu custom-made for cloud container hosts and smart, connected devices. It powers drones, robots, network switches, mobile base stations, industrial gateways, and IoT home hubs.

The first stable version of 'Snappy' Ubuntu Core is now available as part of 15.04.

This release supports 64-bit Intel-based architectures, as well as ARM HF, promising a common platform for device development that support a very wide range of production hardware.

Ubuntu Kylin 15.04:

Locally integrated menus and click-to-minimise are now incorporated alongside upgrades to feature applications such as Ubuntu Kylin Software Centre, Youker Assistant, Youker Weather to name a few.

Youker Assistant V2.0.2 features a new user interface that promises better management of personal applications and enables users to contribute directly to translation of package descriptions directly from the Ubuntu Software Centre.

Pinyin users can install vocabularies directly from the Sogou website.