Canonical has released Ubuntu Core 24, the latest version of its Linux distro geared for edge and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distro, by a wide margin, and serves as the basis for countless other distros. Ubuntu Core an immutable version that is aim specifically at IoT and edge computing.

This ‘immutable’ flavour of Ubuntu puts every system component, and the system itself, into a set of containers with strict kernel-enforced confinement, rich managed component integration, reliable over-the-air updates and failsafe rollbacks to enable intelligent edge and IoT applications.

Ubuntu Core 24 supports Arm, X86, as well as RISC-V, and the company has cut down the time it takes to do a factory installation. In addition, organizations can now perform air-gapped factory installations to meet stringent security requirements.

“Ubuntu Core is the locked-down, hardened, embedded version of Ubuntu, that brings Ubuntu applications to the far edge and enables the next generation of intelligent devices,” said Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical. “In Ubuntu Core 24 we are excited to bring the full AI stack with real-time kernel to the edge, to enable mission-critical decision making for industrial, automotive and security-sensitive embedded solutions”.

The new version also improves GPU integration, especially for AIoT.

“Our technology uses computer vision and deep machine learning to enable 99.9% order accuracy from selection to delivery. Ubuntu Core enables us to deploy our AI models and updates securely and reliably to our fleet of edge systems. This end-to-end infrastructure makes our systems secure for the most demanding enterprise environments and reduces time to market for new AI applications“. – Robert Martin, Vice President of Technology at Rehrig Pacific Company.

Ubuntu Core demonstrates Canonical’s vision for snaps in its truest form. Although snaps have been outshined by Flatpaks for favored universal packaging format in the wider Linux community, snaps have advantages that Flatpak can’t match. In particular, while Flatpaks are designed exclusive for user-facing desktop apps, snaps can be used to package the entire system, including the kernel and command-line applications.

Ubuntu Core exists because of snaps, as the company describes:

Ubuntu Core is built from snaps, a secure, confined, dependency-free, cross-platform Linux packaging format.

Snaps are self-contained, which means they possibly include everything needed to run or use components from other snaps in a limited and controlled manner. They’re used by Ubuntu Core to both compose the image that’s run on a device, and to deliver consistent and reliable software updates, often to low-powered, inaccessible, and remotely administered embedded and IoT systems.

With Ubuntu Core 24, Canonical is continuing to evolve the Linux space, and those improvements should eventually make their way to desktop users as well.