Ubuntu 23.10 is codenamed “Mantic Minotaur”

Under normal circumstances, Ubuntu version codenames are based on various creatures, such as the recently released Ubuntu 23.04, codenamed Lunar Lobster, and past versions like Jammy Jellyfish. However, starting with Ubuntu 23.10, Canonical appears to have decided to employ mythical creatures, with the new version named Mantic Minotaur.

“Mantic” conveys a sense of prophecy, and can be interpreted as “prophetic,” while “Minotaur” refers to the mythological Greek creature with a human lower half and a bull’s head, thus also known as the Bull-headed Monster.

Canonical has yet to explain the choice of this name, but the release dates for Ubuntu 23.10 have been set, with the RP version launching on September 21 and the GA version on October 12.

Regarding end-of-life (EOL), both Ubuntu 23.04 and Ubuntu 23.10 are non-LTS versions, featuring only nine months of support. Consequently, if you are not a desktop user, there is generally no need to update to these versions.

Desktop users can readily upgrade to these versions for new features, while servers should continue using Ubuntu 22.04 LTS until the release of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS in April 2024.