After four months of intense work, theKDE developers announced some days ago, The long-awaited release of “KDE Plasma 6.3”, a desktop environment that promises to transform the user experience with a series of improvements aimed at optimizing both performance and usability.
The new version not only features improvements in the visual field (scaling, rendering, color, etc.), but also introduces a number of improvements to the user interface, support for touch screens, improvements to widgets, applications and much more.
KDE Plasma 6.3 Key New Features
Rendering and scaling improvements
One of the most significant changes that is presented KDE Plasma 6.3, focuses on the KWin composition engine, in which The bracket has been redesigned for fractional scaling, it is now possible to enjoy a sharper and more precise display. In addition to this, a fine-tuning the screen pixel grid, which when enlarged, displays a grid that helps distinguish individual pixels.
In Night Light mode, KDE Plasma 6.3 has refined color accuracy, making the display remain true even without relying on ICC profiles. A new setting in KWin allows you to fine-tune the accuracy of color reproduction, while subtle transparency for desktop widgets and pop-ups adds a modern and elegant touch to the visual experience.
Interface and configuration improvements
Another area that received improvements in this new version of KDE 6.3 is in the user interface, since Task Manager widget can now display textual information additional when thumbnails are disabled, making it easier to identify active applications.
Among the new features is a handy feature that automatically disables the touchpad when you connect a mouse. Moreover, the device configuration like graphic tabletss has been completely redesigned, Well now the The configurator page is divided into three tabs optical boutiques
In addition, real-time feedback on tilt and pressure is displayed during the pen test, and the ability to map the entire tablet surface to the screen has been added, along with fine-tuned pressure range adjustments that allow you to ignore touches that are too light or too strong.
In the field of connectivity, the Access point configuration now allows generating random passwords for the wireless network, which adds an extra level of security. In addition, the main menu has been reorganized, incorporating a new “Help” category and merging the “Settings” section with “System”.
At the file manager, when you drag a file from a partially covered window, The source window no longer moves to the front, thus preventing the destination content from being hidden. Additionally, a button has been added to the context menu to quickly access the target file of a symbolic link. The “Clone Panel” function in the Panel Configurator allows you to easily duplicate an existing panel, offering flexibility to customize your desktop layout.
Improvements to the launcher and notifications
Kickoff has also undergone changes, as it now Changing categories now requires an explicit click, similar to what you’d expect from sidebars, though there’s the option to revert to the previous behavior if you prefer. The option to disable symbolic icons in the Kickoff menu via the KMenuEdit menu editor has also been added, and attempting to edit files with the “.desktop” extension via the “Edit Application…” option now opens KMenuEdit directly, speeding up the customization process.
El Clock widget now shows all scheduled events of the day, not limited to just the first five. On the other hand, when you exit Do Not Disturb mode, instead of displaying an overflowing backlog of notifications, only the number of missed notifications is displayed, making it easier to quickly assess recent activity.
The Explorer Widget has been improved, as it now allows you to bulk delete all instances of a widget, even those that have been orphaned or are associated with disabled screens, thus facilitating more orderly management of the environment.
Now, when you launch apps that have been granted permission to capture input devices and the screen, you'll receive a notification giving you tips on how to disable screen capture and regain full control of your system.
Of the other changes that stand out:
- The Power & Battery widget now notifies you when your wireless earbuds are low on power, providing a more accurate representation of your battery status.
- The System Monitor application has been updated to improve the accuracy of CPU load monitoring while simultaneously reducing resource consumption while running.
- Added support for collecting statistics on GPU performance on FreeBSD
- The Information Center now offers additional data on all GPUs, including battery charge cycle counters.
- An option has been added to KWin that allows you to temporarily disable window attribute redefinition rules.
- Clipboard handling has been improved to reduce memory consumption when storing large work histories.
- A service has been added that detects when the kernel forcefully terminates an application due to lack of system memory.
- Discover has been modified so that on large screens the layout is limited to two columns, improving readability and visual organization.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that this update is available in project builds such as KDE Neon and in distributions such as openSUSE, and the builds for the different distributions have already been deployed in their official repositories.