Ubuntu 25.10, known as “Questing Quokka,” is taking a big turn under the hood. Canonical has dropped support for the GNOME desktop running on Xorg. Starting with this release, the default “Ubuntu” session now uses Wayland only. Yes, folks, there’s no longer an option to log into GNOME on Xorg.
This shift didn’t come out of nowhere. GNOME upstream has already signaled its intention to phase out Xorg support entirely with GNOME 49. Canonical is simply getting ahead of that. By making the switch now, Ubuntu gives its users and developers a full release cycle to adapt before Ubuntu 26.04, the next long-term support version, rolls out next year.
Why the change? Wayland has matured. Nvidia driver support has improved, touchscreens behave better, and high-DPI displays are more usable. Canonical also says maintaining both Xorg and Wayland has become a drag, slowing development and adding unnecessary complexity. Dropping GNOME on Xorg lets the project tighten things up.
Of course, not everyone will be thrilled. Some users rely on Xorg for specific workflows, such as remote desktop setups, legacy tools, or older hardware. Canonical acknowledges that and points out that Xorg itself isn’t going away. You can still install it and use it with other desktop environments. What’s changing is GNOME’s support for it.
Also worth noting: most X11 applications won’t break. Thanks to XWayland, many older apps will still run just fine in the new Wayland-based session, without needing any changes.
Canonical’s decision sets the tone for future Ubuntu releases. There’s no turning back. If you’re a GNOME user, Wayland is now the path forward… whether you’re ready or not.
