Modern and Full-Featured
Ubuntu MATE is een modern besturingssysteem, met een aantrekkelijke en gemakkelijk te begrijpen gebruikersomgeving. Zijn update manager houdt niet alleen het besturingssysteem zelf courant, maar ook alle geïnstalleerde applicaties. Het besturingssysteem is veiliger en wordt beter ondersteund dan besturingssystemen die typisch vooraf geïnstalleerd worden op de meeste hedendaagse computers.
Voorgeconfigureerd maar flexiebel

Als je Ubuntu mate gebruikt krijg je de vrijheid van een compleet besturingssysteem met alle benodigde functies en vooraf ingesteld met de meeste, of zelfs alle programma's die je nodig hebt voor je dagelijks gebruik -of die je nodig hebt om het uitzicht, de werking en de programma's ervan aan te passen naar je eigen smaak.
Ingebouwde beveiliging

Ubuntu MATE is designed with security in mind. Unlike operating systems that update only once a month, Ubuntu MATE receives updates continuously. The updates include security patches for Ubuntu MATE and all of its components. Security updates for all of its installed applications are also provided on the same schedule. This ensures that you have the latest protection for all of your computer's software -- as soon as it's available!

Ubuntu MATE can get viruses and other infections... but it doesn't. Rapid and timely updates ensure that there are very few, if any threats to Linux systems like Ubuntu MATE that persist in the wild. In reality, there have been very few "public" infections in the last 10 years that can affect Ubuntu MATE. They are no longer a threat to anyone installing or using a modern Linux distribution today. Ubuntu MATE is designed to make it difficult for viruses, root kits and other malware to be installed and run without conscious intervention by you, the user. Even if you do accidentally invite in an infection, chances are it's designed to attack Windows and won't do much, if any damage to Ubuntu MATE.

Another significant security feature of Ubuntu MATE is that its users are not administrators by default. Administrators ("root" users) on any computer system have permission to do anything they want, including the ability to damage the system.
For example, other operating systems look at the name of a file to determine which program should open it, then immediately attempt to open it. That design makes it easy for an intruder to attack a computer. Ubuntu MATE opens a file based on what the file is, not based on its name. So even if a malicious program disguises its identity by using the name "Last Will and Testament.txt" Ubuntu MATE will recognize the file as a program. The system provides a warning that the file is not a text file, but that it is a program that will be run if you give it permission to continue. To be extra secure, Ubuntu MATE requires you to provide your administrator password before that permission is granted. Every single time.
Powerful Applications
While MATE Desktop provides the essential user interfaces to control and use a computer, Ubuntu MATE adds a collection of additional applications to turn your computer into a truly powerful workstation.
Productiviteit

Firefox brengt veilig, gemakkelijk webbrowsen, een vertrouwde gebruikersomgeving, verhoogde beveiligingskenmerken inclusief bescherming voor online identiteitsdiefstal, en een geïntegreerde zoekfunctie om je de beste surf-ervaring te geven.

Thunderbird is a full-featured email, RSS and newsgroup client that makes emailing safer, faster and easier than ever before. It supports different mail accounts (POP, IMAP, Gmail), has a simple mail account setup wizard, one-click address book, tabbed interface, an integrated learning spam filter, advanced search and indexing capabilities, and offers easy organization of mails with tagging and virtual folders. It also features unrivalled extensibility.

LibreOffice is a full-featured office productivity suite that provides a near drop-in replacement for Microsoft(R) Office; its clean interface and powerful tools let you unleash your creativity and grow your productivity. LibreOffice embeds several applications that make it the most powerful Free and Open Source Office suite on the market:
Writer, de tekstverwerker.
Calc, het rekenblad.
Impress, het presentatiepakket.
Draw, het tekenpakket en flowchart programma.
Base, de databank en databank frontend.
Math, het wiskundig programma.
Amusement

Rhythmbox is a very easy to use music playing and management program which supports a wide range of audio formats (including mp3 and ogg). Originally inspired by Apple's iTunes, the current version also supports Internet Radio, iPod integration and generic portable audio player support, Audio CD burning, Audio CD playback, music sharing, and Podcasts.

Shotwell is a digital photo organizer. It allows you to import photos from disk or camera, organize them in various ways, view them in full-window or fullscreen mode, and export them to share with others. It is able to manage a lot of different image formats, also including raw CR2 files.

VLC is the VideoLAN project's media player. It plays MPEG, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, MOV, WMV, QuickTime, WebM, FLAC, MP3, Ogg/Vorbis files, DVDs, VCDs, podcasts, and multimedia streams from various network sources.
VLC can also be used as a streaming server that duplicates the stream it reads and multicasts them through the network to other clients, or serves them through HTTP.
VLC has support for on-the-fly transcoding of audio and video formats, either for broadcasting purposes or for movie format transformations.
... And a whole lot more!
Naturally you'll also find a firewall, backup application, document/photo scanner and printer management all included in Ubuntu MATE. And this is just the start. The Programma secties omvatten best-in-class programma's voor de meeste taken, en een één-klik installatieprogramma voor een "App Store" that will give you access to thousands of applications suitable for just about any professional or recreational pursuit.
Games

In de laatste paar jaar werd Linux een eerste klas spelplatform dankzij Valve bringing the Steam platform to Linux. At the time of writing Steam has more than 1000 high quality indie and AAA titles available for Linux. Ubuntu MATE is fully compatible with Steam for Linux.
While Steam is a major step forward for gaming on Linux, there are also many high quality and enjoyable Open Source games titles available for Ubuntu MATE. It doesn't matter if you like flight simulators, motor racing, first person shooters, jump and run or card games, you'll find something to keep you entertained.
Accessibility

Making an accessible operating system was a key priority when the Ubuntu MATE founders initially set out the goals of the project.
Ubuntu MATE is never going to be able to offer the comprehensive integration of assistive technologies that Sonar GNU/Linux provides. But Ubuntu MATE will continue to follow their lead so that Ubuntu MATE is a viable desktop solution where computer access is shared within a household or business where individual needs differ.
Mobile Integration
Currently Ubuntu MATE has the essential mobile device support you'd expect. You can plug in a phone, media player or digital camera and the device is automatically detected and mounted. You can then access the files on it or sync its contents.