It looks like there's a new LTS release of Lubuntu coming soon, and I would like to switch to LTS for the stability. While I'm at it, though, I'm curious to try LXLE. Is it possible to make a shift from the current/latest Lubuntu over to LXLE without losing existing apps, settings, themes etc.? Or would it be better to do a clean install?
Also, I couldn't find anything about the release schedule for LXLE. Will there be a new release of it at the same time as the LTS version of Lubuntu?
Is it possible to make a shift from the current/latest Lubuntu over to LXLE without losing existing apps, settings, themes etc.?
In short, no because LXLE makes different choices regarding apps, which in turn affects settings. Take a look at the default apps and this (old) Q&A to get a better sense of compatibility.
I couldn't find anything about the release schedule for LXLE.
Here's what the LXLE website says about the release schedule:
Our development cycle is quite simple. We stick with LTS releases of Ubuntu/Lubuntu. For us, our new versions of LXLE correspond with the updates provided to the LTS release. In other words, our versions between LTS releases are the 6 month incremental updates. Example: LXLE 12.04.1, 12.04.2, 12.04.3, 12.04.4, etc.
But...
Will there be a new release of it at the same time as the LTS version of Lubuntu?
This is not clear, but based quick research, no. There's a timelapse between Lubuntu and the equivalent LXLE release. For example, Lubuntu 16.4.03 was released on Aug 03, 2017, while LXLE 16.4.03 was released on Nov 20th, 2017; That's approx. 3 months later.
