Ubuntu Installer Migration for Flavours

[Jon Seager]

Hello there!

As you already know, we've been working on a new and improved Ubuntu
Desktop installer [1], consisting of subiquity on the backend, and a new
Flutter based frontend. We rolled this out incrementally as we tested the
installer, but it is now considered stable.

In addition to serving Canonical's own needs for Ubuntu Desktop, we wanted
to make sure that the installer was going to be adaptable to different
flavours, and as such the installer allows for custom artwork and accent
colours, and can include a different set of slides according to its
configuration. Much of that detail can be found in the GitHub repository.

During the release of Ubuntu 25.04, we experienced a number of issues with
Calamares, mostly relating to a new feature that has ultimately not landed
in the last release.  While this is not systemic to the choice of
Calamares, it did give me pause for thought about the installer experience
across Ubuntu.

After some discussion internally, and a discussion with sabdfl, I intend to
ask all of the flavours to transition to the new Ubuntu Desktop installer
by 26.04 LTS. Now that it's stable for Ubuntu Desktop, and we have evidence
from the flavours who've already adopted it, I'm confident that this goal
is achievable within the timeframe.

Many of the flavours have already migrated to the new installer, including
Ubuntu Mate [2] and Xubuntu [3]. In fact, the only flavours yet to
transition are Kubuntu, Lubuntu and Ubuntu Unity. Coincidentally, I
received some communication from Rick Timmis (Kubuntu) this week,
indicating that he'd like Kubuntu (and other flavours) to make the move.

The principal reason for this request is consistency: consistency in
experience for our collective userbase, but also consistency in image
preparation and release. Our community has an expectation that our
flavours, while uniquely tailored, are still very much Ubuntu at their
core. The "Ubuntu experience" includes a robust and consistent installation
process. We have a dedicated team at Canonical who are actively working on
features and fixes for subiquity and the desktop installer, so we'll be
much better placed to support them once they've made the transition.

There are a couple of features that I know are not yet available in the new
installer. My ask will be that the flavours make the transition, and then
we collaborate on adding those features to a single codebase that all
Ubuntu flavours can benefit from.

I've spoken with the lead of subiquity (Dan), and the lead for the Desktop
Installer (Dennis), both of whom are content to be named points of contact
for the flavours to assist the transition.

I'm raising this to the TB on recommendation from the Community Team, and
want to ensure that there is no strong objection to this before carefully
communicating with the flavours.

Thanks,

Jon
VP Engineering, Ubuntu

[1] https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-desktop-provision
[2]
https://github.com/ubuntu-mate/ubuntu-mate-settings/tree/master/usr/share/desktop-provision
[3]
https://github.com/Xubuntu/xubuntu-default-settings/tree/master/debian/live/desktop-provision
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