Ubuntu desktop for Raspberry Pi 2?

Question

Is there a desktop version of Ubuntu that runs on a Raspberry Pi 2? Not just the 'core' functionality like Windows 10.

Answer 1

The Ubuntu Raspberry Pi wiki is the most reliable and up-to-date source for information about installing Ubuntu on the Raspberry Pi, but the Ubuntu image for Raspberry Pi linked to at the Ubuntu Raspberry Pi wiki is not an officially supported Ubuntu release. An Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) image is available for the Raspberry Pi 2, which combines the released 14.04 distribution with a PPA containing kernels and firmware which work on the Raspberry Pi 2. The instructions for installing this image are at the same webpage.

Official images

Raspberry Pi preinstalled Ubuntu 20.10 Desktop and preinstalled Ubuntu 20.10 Server images are available from ubuntu.com. The preinstalled images allow you to unpack a preinstalled version of Ubuntu onto a target device.

armhf

• Raspberry Pi 2: ubuntu-18.04-preinstalled-server-armhf+raspi2.img.xz (4G image, 296MB compressed)

• Raspberry Pi 3: The official Raspberry Pi 2 images can be used with a Pi 3B/3B+ after minor changes (see instructions).

• Ubuntu MATE for Raspberry Pi 2/3

• Raspberry Pi 4: Ubuntu 19.10 Raspberry Pi 32-bit and 64-bit preinstalled images (raspi3) now support the Raspberry Pi 4 platform out of the box. You can install Ubuntu Server + desktop environment (optional) on a Raspberry Pi 4 by following the instructions in this answer.

• Further releases can be found at http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/releases/

arm64

The generic arm64 ISO images can be used with the Raspberry Pi 3. Instructions for booting these are here.

Canonical has released official [Ubuntu Core 16 and Core 18 images for Raspberry Pi 3. The instructions for installing it are at Install Ubuntu Core on a Raspberry Pi 2 or 3. As the wiki says: Snappy Ubuntu Core is a new rendition of Ubuntu with transactional updates - a minimal server image with the same libraries as today’s Ubuntu, but applications are provided through a simpler mechanism.

• Ubuntu Core 16 is based on Ubuntu 16.04, and is supported for 5 years.

• Ubuntu Core 18 is based on Ubuntu 18.04, and is supported for 10 years.

A new release of Ubuntu Core is released every 2 years on even numbered years (2016, 2018, etc.).

Ubuntu MATE 16.04 has fully working bluetooth and wifi on the Raspberry Pi 3.

Answer 2

There is a Script

http://www.fastix.org/r/ubuntu-for-raspberry-installer.tar.gz

You can add the paket

• xubuntu-desktop
• or lubuntu-desktop
• or ubuntu-desktop or

whatever you want.

into the include file rpi2-settings.sh. A german description is available on:

http://www.fastix.org/Installer+fuer+Ubuntu-Server+auf+Rasberry+PI+2B.htm

A english description is available into ./doc/README.TXT

Answer 3

Ubuntu Unity isn't, but Ubuntu MATE is - with a desktop and APT. After installing it, it should be possible to replace MATE with Unity if you want, but unless you particularly want Unity, you should stay with MATE as it'll probably run faster.

This is officially supported by Ubuntu MATE and you can download it from here. It's also one of the operating systems listed on the Raspberry Pi downloads page.