How To Install GNOME 3.20 In Ubuntu 16.04

GNOME is one of the most popular desktop environments for Linux users today and version 3.20 happens to be the latest iteration of the graphical user interface and was only recently released. It comes with major bug fixes, new features, translation updates and also documentation.

Users can try GNOME 3.20 by installing it from the testing or staging repositories as per their system. In this basic howto, however, we’ll be showing you how to install it from the staging repository for your Ubuntu system and derivatives.

Main Features and improvements bundled with GNOME 3.20 include:

• OS upgrades can now be installed using the GNOME software center
• Support for Wayland has enhanced significantly, with kinetic scrolling, drag-and-drop, and middle-click paste
• Keyboard shortcuts and gestures can be effortlessly clever with new shortcut overlay windows
• Improved Privacy controls with per-application location access
• Easy access to media controls directly within the shell
• Searching in Files has been much enhanced

Additionally, developers will enjoy an improved experience which include GTK+ support for OpenGL (which now allows GTK+ apps to natively support 3D), GTK+ inspector updates, and new GLib reference counting feature which will enable easy debugging.

Installing Gnome 3.20 in Ubuntu and Linux Mint

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For you to be able to install Gnome 3.20 on Ubuntu 16.04 or its derivatives such as Linux Mint 17, you will need to add the GNOME staging repository using the commands below:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-staging
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3

Once the above commands have been run successfully, update your systems’ repository list by running the following command:

$ sudo apt-get update

Then install GNOME 3.20 as follows:

$ sudo apt-get install gnome

Here is what GNOME 3.20 looks like

That is all with installing GNOME 3.20, — you can be rest assured that developers are working hard on the new update and you’ll learn about it here first once it’s out.

If you come across any problems installing this update, you can always leave a comment down below.