KDE Plasma 5 is the fifth and current generation of the desktop environment created by KDE, primarily for use on Linux distributions.
The new version of KDE Plasma 5.27 is now available , which comes with a large number of key improvements, as well as new features and bug fixes in the different elements that make up this desktop environment.
Of the most notable that we can find in this new edition of Plasma 5.27, there is, for example, the introduction of Plasma Welcome, the restructuring of the configurator, redesign improvements in some elements and several quite interesting things.
KDE Plasma 5.27 Key New Features
In this new version of KDE Plasma 5.27, presented in the KWin window manager, window tiling capabilities have been expanded. In addition to the previously available options for docking windows to the right or left, full control over window tiling is now available through the interface accessed by pressing Meta+T. When moving a window while holding down the Shift key, the window will now automatically be tiled.
Another notable change in the new version is simplified system monitoring through widgets . The Bluetooth widget now displays the battery level of connected devices. NVIDIA GPU power consumption data has been added to the System Monitor.
The system settings were restructured to reduce the number of configuration pages and move smaller options to other sections. For example, the cursor animation setting for application startup has been moved to the Cursors page, the button to highlight modified settings has been moved to the hamburger menu, and all global volume settings have been moved to the Audio Volume page and are no longer provided separately.
In addition, a new module has been added to the configurator for setting Flatpak package permissions . By default, Flatpak packages do not have access to the rest of the system, and through the provided interface, you can selectively grant each package the necessary permissions, such as access to parts of the main file system, hardware devices, network connections, the audio subsystem, and printing.
We can also find Plasma Welcome , which is an introductory application that introduces users to the basic functions of the desktop and allows them to perform basic configurations, such as linking to online services.
Discover has a redesigned homepage featuring dynamically updated categories with popular apps, as well as a selection of recommended programs. Search capabilities have been expanded; if no matches are found in the current category, a search across all categories is provided.
Other notable changes in the new version include:
- For users of the Steam Deck game console, the ability to install system updates has been implemented.
- Provided support for defining global keyboard shortcuts for executing individual commands in the terminal.
- Added the ability to enable Do Not Disturb from the command line (kde-inhibit --notifications).
- Added support for moving or copying windows in rooms (Activities) by right-clicking on the title bar and selecting an action.
- In lock screen mode, pressing the Esc key now turns the screen off and puts it in power saving mode.
- A separate field has been added to the menu editor to define environment variables set when opening programs.
- Continuous improvement of the session based on the Wayland protocol.
- Added support for smooth scrolling with high-resolution wheel mouse.
- Drawing apps like Krita now have the ability to track pen tilt and rotation on tablets.
- Added support for setting global hotkeys.
- Provided automatic selection of zoom level for the screen.
Finally, if you're interested in learning more about this new release of KDE, you can find the details at the following link.
Try KDE Plasma 5.27
Those interested in this new version can try it out through a live build from the openSUSE project and a build from the KDE Neon Testing editing project.
Similarly, you can find the corresponding packages within the repositories of your Linux distribution.