Ultimate Review
Ultimate Edition 2026.09.01: The Former Ubuntu and Mint Fork, Rebuilt on Arch Since 2024
Few distributions have changed foundations as completely as Ultimate Edition. According to its DistroWatch listing, Ultimate Edition was first released in December 2006 and was a fork of Ubuntu and Linux Mint, though recent versions starting in 2024 have been based on Arch Linux. The name and the ambition survived the move; the package system underneath did not.
The latest release in DistroWatch’s feature table is Ultimate Edition 2026.09.01, released on 1 September 2026. It is free, listed as Active, and categorised by DistroWatch as a Desktop, Gaming and Live Medium system for x86_64 hardware. It sits at number 71 in DistroWatch’s popularity rankings with 178 hits per day, and visitors rate it 4.5 out of 10 from 6 reviews — a low score from a small sample that is worth noting honestly alongside the project’s long history.
DistroWatch says the goal of the project is to create a complete, seamlessly integrated, visually stimulating and easy-to-install operating system. That history matters for readers of our Linux Mint review: Mint was once part of this distribution’s ancestry, but anyone downloading Ultimate Edition today is getting an Arch system with pacman, not a Mint or Ubuntu derivative.
At a Glance
| Latest Release | 2026.09.01 (1 September 2026) |
| OS Type | Linux |
| Base | Arch |
| Origin | USA |
| Desktop | KDE Plasma (default); Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce also listed |
| Architectures | x86_64 |
| Installer | Calamares |
| Package Management | pacman — pkg and Flatpak package formats |
| Release Model | Fixed |
| Init System | systemd |
| File Systems | Btrfs, ext4, JFS, XFS (journaled) |
| Default Browser | LibreWolf |
| Price | Free (ISO image size approx. 8,800–8,900 MB for 2026.09.01) |
| DistroWatch Popularity | 71 (178 hits per day) |
| Visitor Rating | 4.5/10 from 6 reviews |
From Ubuntu and Mint to Arch, Without Losing the Point
The base change is the story of modern Ultimate Edition. DistroWatch’s feature table shows the switch plainly: releases up to 7.1 in 2021 used apt and deb-era tooling, while 2022.12.31’s successors — 2024.11.03, 2025.12.28 and 2026.09.01 — use pacman, with Calamares as the installer throughout the recent line. The release model is listed as Fixed, not rolling in name, even though the foundation is now Arch.
That puts Ultimate Edition in direct conversation with our Arch review: Arch itself is famously install-it-yourself, while Ultimate Edition wraps an Arch base in Calamares, a graphical install and a ready-made desktop. Another Arch-based comparison is our CachyOS review, which also aims to make an Arch foundation approachable — CachyOS through performance tuning, Ultimate Edition through completeness and visual polish.
Everything Included, and a Very Large Download to Prove It
DistroWatch says other main features include a custom desktop and theme with 3D effects, support for a wide range of networking options including WiFi and Bluetooth, and integration of many extra applications and package repositories. Single-button upgrade is listed as one of several special characteristics of the distribution. This has never been a minimal system, and the numbers back that up.
The 2026.09.01 image is approximately 8,800–8,900 MB, per DistroWatch — by far larger than a typical desktop ISO, and larger even than the 6,400–7,800 MB listed for 2025.12.28. That size is the trade-off of the “complete” pitch: you download a lot up front so that a lot is already there afterwards. Package formats for the latest release are listed as pkg and Flatpak, managed with pacman, the init system is systemd, and journaled file systems are Btrfs, ext4, JFS and XFS. The default browser for 2026.09.01 is LibreWolf, a change from Chrome in 2025.12.28 and from Chrome and Firefox in the earlier Arch-era releases, per the feature table. DistroWatch lists no office suite for 2026.09.01 — the table shows a dash for that release, where earlier releases listed LibreOffice — so check the live system if office software out of the box matters to you.
Four Desktops, Plasma in Front
Choice of desktop is part of the completeness idea. DistroWatch lists Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, MATE and Xfce for Ultimate Edition, and its feature table names KDE Plasma as the default desktop for 2026.09.01 and for every recent release back through the Arch transition — a continuity that survived the base change, whereas the oldest releases in the table cycled through GNOME, MATE and KDE.
Plasma as the default gives Ultimate Edition a polished, configurable face, while Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce give it lighter or more traditional alternatives without changing distributions. Readers who prefer their Arch base with a single, focused desktop vision may prefer the approach in our Manjaro review; Ultimate Edition’s answer is the opposite — keep several desktops in the catalogue and let the user pick the personality.
Desktop, Gaming and Live Use in One System
DistroWatch categorises Ultimate Edition as Desktop, Gaming and Live Medium — three labels that together explain who the big image is for. As a Live Medium you can test the custom theme, the networking support and the desktop before installing with Calamares. As a Desktop system it is built around being complete and visually stimulating from the first boot. And the Gaming category reflects a long thread in the project’s history: DistroWatch’s release announcements include a 2015 “Gamers” edition among its older 4.x releases, long before the Arch rebuild.
None of that makes the 4.5/10 visitor rating disappear. Six reviews is a small sample, but it is the sample DistroWatch has, and it suggests new users should test carefully in live mode first — especially given the download size — before committing disk space to an install.
Who Should Try Ultimate Edition?
- Arch-curious users who want a graphical start — DistroWatch lists an Arch base with the Calamares installer and pacman, rather than a manual Arch install; compare plain Arch itself in our review.
- Users who want everything pre-integrated — DistroWatch cites many extra applications and package repositories, a custom desktop and theme with 3D effects, and single-button upgrade as special characteristics.
- Desktop choosers — KDE Plasma is the default, with Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce also listed by DistroWatch.
- Gamers and live testers — DistroWatch categorises it as Gaming and Live Medium as well as Desktop, so you can try the 8,800–8,900 MB image live before installing.
- Long-time Ubuntu and Mint-era followers curious about the new direction — first released in December 2006 as a fork of Ubuntu and Linux Mint, per DistroWatch, but based on Arch since 2024.
Final Thoughts
Ultimate Edition 2026.09.01 is a distribution with two histories: a long Ubuntu and Mint past dating back to December 2006, and a shorter Arch present since 2024 with pacman, Calamares, systemd, LibreWolf and KDE Plasma by default. DistroWatch’s description — complete, seamlessly integrated, visually stimulating and easy to install — still states the ambition accurately, and the 8,800–8,900 MB free image is the clearest evidence of how literally the project takes “complete”.
If you like the idea behind CachyOS’s Arch-made-approachable pitch but want maximum included software and desktop choice instead of performance tuning, Ultimate Edition is worth a live test. Go in with eyes open about its 71st-place popularity ranking and 4.5/10 rating from 6 reviews, and let the live session — not the project’s long history — make the final call.
Source: DistroWatch’s Ultimate Edition listing, covering the Ultimate Edition 2026.09.01 release of 1 September 2026.