The beta version of this long term release is out, which will remain supported until 2021.
The other changes are a switch to LightDM login manager and improvements in Blueberry utility.
This is an important release for Linux Mint as Ubuntu is trying to make a radical change replacing the default desktop environment with GNOME. On the other hand, Linux Mint uses Cinnamon and MATE desktop environments.
Getting back to the Linux Mint 18.2 Beta, it comes with updated software and developments to make the overall Linux Mint desktop experience much better.
Linux Mint 18.2 MATE edition ships with MATE 1.18 desktop environment, built using GTK+ 3 libraries.
On the other hand, the Linux Mint 18.2 Cinnamon edition ships with Cinnamon 3.4 desktop.Mint 18.2 ships with a new login screen which uses LightDM display manager by default. It also uses the Slickgreeter and LightDM Settings configuration tool.
The other important change is the Update Manager ,for keeping the computer safe and sound from bugs. Both the editions feature new versions of the Mint’s X-apps, which are the cross-desktop forks of GNOME applications.Also ,Linux Mint 18.2 Beta is based on Linux kernel 4.8 and Ubuntu 16.04.
Hope you find this update on Linux Mint 18.2 helpful!