Kubuntu officially removes default support for X11 platform

The X Window System (also known as X11 or X) - a windowing system for displaying bitmap graphics - has just lost another major supporter. Kubuntu has decided to follow in the footsteps of its parent distro (Ubuntu), making its next release 25.10 a Wayland-only version.

Many Linux developers see Wayland as the future, a viable replacement for X11. Recently, Linux Mint has started improving support for this protocol in Cinnamon, addressing lingering issues with keyboard layouts and input methods. Progress is also evident in KDE development, with a PiP (Picture-in-Picture) upgrade for Wayland planned for KDE Plasma 6.5.

Why remove X11?

According to Rik Mills (Kubuntu), the team wanted to "fix the X11 issue" right away in the intermediate release (25.10) instead of causing discontent by doing it in Long Term Support (LTS) 26.04. The reason is pretty obvious:

1. Maintaining an outdated X11 platform hinders security and feature advancements that Wayland makes easier to implement
2. Supporting 2 display servers simultaneously (X11 + Wayland) is a technical burden

However, users of older hardware (e.g. low-end NVIDIA cards) or applications that are not compatible with the XWayland compatibility layer can still enable an X11 session using this terminal command:

sudo apt install plasma-session-x11

After installation, the X11 option will appear on the login screen.

According to OMGUbuntu, other official versions such as Xubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Cinnamon are expected to still support the default X11 session in this release cycle.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 01 July 2025