Description

Linux Mint 22.3 LTS, codenamed Zena, arrived in January 2026 as the latest long‑term‑support release for the Cinnamon desktop. It targets both newcomers and seasoned Linux users who value a polished, ready‑to‑use desktop experience, and it ships exclusively for 64‑bit x86_64 hardware.

The Zena update brings a refreshed Cinnamon 6.0 desktop with improved panel customization, a new “Mint‑Y” theme that offers better contrast on high‑DPI screens, and tighter integration with GTK 4 applications. Under the hood, the distribution now runs the Linux 6.5 kernel, delivering enhanced hardware support, especially for newer AMD and Intel GPUs. System‑wide performance has been boosted by the adoption of the latest Mesa drivers and a refined APT cache handling. Users also benefit from an updated Software Manager that includes snap and flatpak support out of the box, and the inclusion of the Timeshift backup tool with automatic snapshot scheduling. For those upgrading from previous releases, the upgrade path is seamless thanks to the new “mintupgrade” utility.

As an LTS release, Linux Mint 22.3 will receive security updates and bug‑fixes until April 2029, providing a stable platform for five years.

Full release notes are available on the official Linux Mint website. See also the previous Linux Mint 21.3 and the alternative Linux Mint 20.3 MATE releases for comparison.