Major Linux distributions are in agreement: it’s time to stop developing new versions for 32-bit processors.

Simply: it’s a waste of time, both to create the 32-bit port, and to keep 32-bit hardware around to test it on.

At the end of June, Ubuntu developer Dimitri Ledkov chipped into the debate with this mailing list post, saying bluntly that 32-bit ports are a waste of resources.

“Building i386 images is not ‘for free’, it comes at the cost of utilising our build farm, QA and validation time. Whilst we have scalable build-farms, i386 still requires all packages, autopackage tests, and ISOs to be revalidated across our infrastructure.”

His proposal is that Ubuntu version 18.10 would be 64-bit-only, and if users desperately need to run 32-bit legacy applications, the’ll have to do so in containers or virtual machines.

Even that timeline would mean 32-bit versions will go very gently into their good night: i386 would be sunsetted as the host architecture in April 2021, and legacy application security support would continue until April 2023.