14 DAY TRIAL // Ubuntu is being released on a six-month development cycle, but this strategy might change in the near future, if the platform convergence is completed.
Less than a year ago, the Ubuntu developers were discussing whether to ditch the six-month cycle and switch to a rolling release, but the discussion has been put on hold. Canonical would have diverted too much effort for this to work, effort which would be better directed at the Touch OS.
Now, when the convergence of the two major platforms from Canonical is in sight, between Desktop and Mobile, the developers are once again thinking about the rolling release model.
“Once we’ve converged those, there’s a question about whether the six-month release cycles make as much sense. Phone and tablet users are used to the idea that the phone just updates itself whenever, so maybe we’ll soften up on the six-month thing and release updates all the time,” said Mark Shuttleworth in an interview for pcpro.co.uk.
Even if Canonical does go through with this idea, it's still a long way off. We might see it fulfilled with Ubuntu 15.04, at the earliest.