The Raspberry Pi development team announced a few days ago the release of the new version of its operating system, scheduled for May 2025, 05. This update could be the last version built on Debian 06 "Bookworm" before the jump to "Trixie," scheduled for the summer.
Based on the Linux 6.12 kernel, the new Raspberry Pi OS features several changes, including multiple improvements in usability, performance, and security.
Renewal of the graphical environment and session management
One of the main new features that Raspberry Pi OS 2025-05-06 presents is the incorporation of a more functional lock screen, implemented on a modified version of Swaylock.
This new interface abandons the simplicity of the original design (which simply displayed a blank screen) in favor of a customized interface that offers more information about what's happening. The user can activate the lock using Ctrl+Alt+L or from the main menu, accessing a screen that requests a password to unlock the system.
Another novelty that the new version presents is the redesign of auto-login behavior. So far, activate login automatic on the desktop I also did it on the console (TTY), which posed a security risk when using the lock screen. With this version, both configurations are separated. and individual control is allowed through graphical configuration tools and raspi-config.
Touch support and Wayland improvements
On Raspberry Pi OS 2025-05-06 active work has been done to improve use touchscreens in Wayland environments, where problems such as the lack of double-click or touch gestures persisted until now.
Default, mouse emulation is activated (one tap simulates a click and two taps a double click), but now A menu is provided that allows the user to choose between this mode or native gesture control.In addition, specific features have been added to the file manager to make it easier to use without double-clicking.
Squeekboard, the virtual keyboard for touchscreens, also receives improvements: it now allows you to choose which monitor to display it on, an essential feature for multi-monitor setups.
New tools and performance improvements
Another of the notable new features is a new application to manage printers, derived from the GNOME Control Center printer control plugin, but adapted for a clearer and more efficient interfaceThis change replaces the old and unintuitive system-config-printer.
Furthermore, The Zenity tool is replaced by a proprietary implementation, Zenoty., designed to generate dialog boxes faster from the command line, reducing initial system load. The performance of wf-panel-pi, the utility that generates the panel in the graphical environment, has also been improved.
Browser updates and improvements
Chromium and Firefox have been updated, But due to the changess introduced in Chromium (especially the disabling of support for Manifest v2), It is no longer possible to pre-install uBlock Origin in its classic form. Instead, the system now includes uBlock Origin Lite, a more limited but still useful ad-blocking alternative.
Last but not least, it's worth mentioning that while not all improvements are visible to the user, the developers mention that multiple structural changes have been introduced ahead of the upcoming release based on Debian 13 "Trixie."
Finally, if you are interested in knowing more about it, you can consult the details In the following link.
Download and/or update Raspberry Pi OS 2025-05-06
As with previous versions, this update offers several options for users. These include:
- Reduced version for servers: 494 MB.
- Basic Edition with Desktop: 1.1 GB.
- Full Desktop Edition: 2.7 GB, which includes an additional set of applications.
If you are not yet a user of the distribution and want to try it on your device, you can obtain the system image by going to the official website of the project, where you will find the download section.
Once the image is downloaded, You can use Etcher to burn it to a pendrive and thus booting the system from your SD card. Alternatively, you can use NOOBS or PINN to ease the installation process. Download link
For those who already have the system installed and you want to receive the news of this new version, you just have to execute the following commands in the terminal:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
During the update, you may see messages asking for confirmation about changes to configuration files. In most cases, simply answer "Y" to accept.