Each annual LTS release is designed to offer the most stable, dependable, and supported version of Unity. It’s supported with biweekly fixes for two years, and it doesn’t introduce feature or API changes – so you can lock in production with confidence. However, that means it takes up to two years for feedback to be implemented as product improvements and new features in an LTS release.
Since the release of Unity 2021 LTS, we have released eight updates, all of which are available on the what’s new page with detailed release notes.
I chose some specific examples of new features and improvements that were developed based on customer requests and feedback. Some of these are highlighted in the Unity 2022.1 Tech Stream release blog post.
From your feedback: Material Variants
One of the most highly requested feature cards from our rendering and visual effects roadmap was Material Variants.
Material Variants offer an integrated and powerful workflow to reduce iteration and authoring mistakes when reusing materials in teams where artists manage large amounts of assets.
Now available in both High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) and Universal Render Pipeline (URP), Material Variants allow you to create material hierarchies, where children can share common properties with the parent material, and override only the properties that differ. Changes to common and non-overridden properties in the template material will automatically be reflected in the variant material, saving you time and making material changes much easier.
Source: Unity Technologies Blog