Ubuntu Will Show APT News in the Software Updater App
Ubuntu has been displaying APT News in the terminal window for a while now and is planning on adding it to the Software Updater GUI.
If you use Ubuntu version 18.04 LTS or newer, you'll soon be seeing Apt News in the Software Updater GUI.
If you've not experienced APT News, the idea behind it (according to Canonical) is to give users as much information as possible about recent updates, so they can decide if those updates should be applied or not. Essentially, APT News is an unobtrusive feature that presents timely news, related to installed packages.
The APT News portion of the Software Updater will be presented near the top of the GUI window and can be expanded to read, otherwise, it will default to unexpanded.
The information presented will include things like significant security updates, features, and/or services. This news section also will inform you when regular support has ended for a release, which should be considered a very handy bit of information to know to help users understand it's time to upgrade to a supported release.
For those who would rather not see this news, Canonical has made it possible to disable with the command pro config set apt-news=false. Otherwise, APT News will be presented in both the terminal and the Software Updater GUI.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you'll get more information if you sign up for Ubuntu Pro, which is free for personal use.
At this time, there is no definitive date when the APT News feature will land in the Software Updater, but I'd expect it sooner, rather than later.
This story was originally reported on OMG! Ubuntu!
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.
-
EndeavorOS Mercury Neo Available
A new release from the EndeavorOS team ships with Plasma 6.3 and other goodies.
-
Fedora 42 Beta Has Arrived
The Fedora Project has announced the availability of the first beta release for version 42 of the open-source distribution.
-
Dash to Panel Maintainer Quits
Charles Gagnon has stepped away as maintainer of the popular Dash to Panel Gnome extension.
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.