{"id":585388,"date":"2026-04-04T17:17:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T17:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/585388\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T17:17:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T17:17:24","slug":"ubuntu-26-04-now-needs-more-ram-than-windows-11-which-says-more-about-microsoft-than-canonical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/585388\/","title":{"rendered":"Ubuntu 26.04 now needs more RAM than Windows 11, which says more about Microsoft than Canonical"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/p>\n

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is due to release on April 23, supported through April 2031.<\/p>\n

Its new system requirements include a 2GHz dual-core, 6GB RAM, and 25GB free disk space.<\/p>\n

It’s more than Windows 11’s 4GB requirement, but Ubuntu lists a comfortable minimum; Windows’ spec is the bare minimum.<\/p>\n

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS’s release date is on the horizon, with the operating system being released on 23rd April if everything goes well. As part of the lead-up to the release, the developers behind Ubuntu, Canonical, have updated the system requirements for the operating system.<\/p>\n

Despite Ubuntu 26.04 LTS’s new system specifications being quite light for a modern-day operating system, it has notably placed the RAM requirements above Windows 11’s recommendation, the operating system that Linux users often call ‘bloated’. However, before you wonder if the FOSS sky is falling, it’s worth actually taking a look at what Microsoft thinks you’ll be able to run Windows 11 off of.<\/p>\n

\"TeamGroup<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\t7 signs it’s finally time to upgrade your RAM
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

That 8GB or 16GB kit might be on its last legs<\/p>\n

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS asks for 6GB of RAM<\/p>\n

It’s more than Windows 11’s 4GB requirement, but good luck running it with that<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

As spotted by Neowin<\/a>, Canonical has released the Ubuntu 26.04 LTS documentation <\/a>ahead of its release date. It details some good-to-know stats as to what to expect from the new release, such as how the OS will be supported all the way until April 2031. However, the documentation also includes a new batch of system requirements, and it includes an increase in RAM:<\/p>\n

Ubuntu Desktop 26.04 LTS requires a 2 GHz dual-core processor or better, a minimum of 6GB RAM and 25 GB of free hard drive space.<\/p>\n

While 6GB of RAM is still pretty light for an operating system, what’s interesting is that this is 50% more RAM needed than what Microsoft claims you need for Windows 11<\/a>. Not only that, but Microsoft says Windows 11 will be right at home on a 1 GHz dual-core processor.<\/p>\n

So, is this the end of open-source operating systems being the lighter, less bloated option compared to Windows? Have some of the core tenets behind Linux distros finally fallen, spelling doom for us all? Well, not really. While it’s true that Canonical has listed higher specifications than Windows 11, there’s one problem: have you tried using Windows 11 on a 1 GHz dual-core processor and 4GB of RAM?<\/p>\n

Running Windows 11 off 4GB of RAM is technically possible, much like how it’s technically possible to play a video game running at 10FPS to completion. However, like the video game, it’s not going to be a smooth or pleasant experience. As such, it’s best to look at Canonical’s system requirements as what you need for a comfortable experience, while Windows 11’s is more the bare minimum. And you do not want to run your daily driver off the bare minimum.<\/p>\n

\"CachyOS<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tCachyOS beats Windows 11 in Cyberpunk 2077 and Space Marine 2 in a new gaming benchmark
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Windows is no longer the king of gaming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is due to release on April 23, supported through April 2031. Its new system…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":585389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-585388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}