The release of the new version of the mobile platform KDE Plasma Mobile 21.12, based on the mobile edition of the Plasma 5 desktop, the KDE Frameworks 5 libraries, the ModemManager phone stack, and the Telepathy communication framework.
To display graphics in Plasma Mobile, the kwin_wayland composite server and PulseAudio are used for sound processing. In parallel, the launch of a Plasma Mobile Gear 21.12 mobile application suite, formed by analogy with the KDE Gear suite, has been prepared.
KDE Plasma Mobile 21.12 Key New Features
In this new version functions related to telephony, how to make calls, transfer data through a cellular operator and send SMS, have been transferred from oFono's native stack to ModemManager which integrates with the NetworkManager network configurator, while oFono is linked to the ConnMan configurator.
Unlike oFono, the ModemManager project is actively developing and support for new devices is regularly transferred to it, while oFono relies on a number of external patches. ModemManager also has stable and high-quality support of modems used in Pinephone and OnePlus 6 devices.
En Maliit virtual keyboard, call of keyboard options, specific to the input data, it fits, for example, a keyboard option for entering numbers is displayed in numeric fields. What's more, behavior related to keyboard display conditions has been improved (in which conditions to show and in which not).
The reworked implementation of the top panel quick settings interfacer. Now the user can connect extensions and add your own settings as well as call the clock widget when you click the clock on the panel. Added a quick setting to switch to flight mode.
In addition, the built-in support for xdg activation protocol, who Allows you to transfer focus between different top-tier surfaces. For example, when using xdg -gation, one application launch interface can transfer focus to another interface, or one application can change focus to another. With the help of xdg activation, better animation is implemented when launching applications, turning off the screen and rotating the image.
The frame Kirigami implements the NavigationTabBar component, that allows you to place navigation elements on the bottom bar. The component is based on the lower navigation blocks used in the dial and watch interface, and has already been adapted for applications such as Elisa, Discover, Tokodon, and Kasts.
In the viewer of time the implementation of dynamic visualizations has been redesigned and the behavior when changing location has been changed. For example, the rain display on a Pinephone can now be displayed at 30 frames per second instead of 5. The sidebar has been completely removed from the mobile version of the interface.
On the other hand, it is highlighted that Koko Image Viewer offers a mobile version of the bottom navigation bar for easy phone control and a new overview page has been added that includes all images shown above and provides the ability to filter by location, date, and online directories.
In the Angelfish web browser a button has now been implemented to clear the browsing history, improved virtual keyboard integration and added a pop-up window to ignore errors when establishing secure connections. Added support for cosmetic filters (to hide items on the page) in the ad blocker implementation.
In addition, heThe program's capabilities for listening to Kasts podcasts have been significantly expanded, as support was added for sections with information about different episodes mentioned in RSS and MP3 tags. The settings are divided into separate categories. The global menu has been replaced by the bottom panel and the context menu in the top panel. Subscription ranking is provided based on unheard episodes.
The client Tokodon Mastodon has improved the implementation of the sidebar in the interface, which now shows only when there is the necessary screen space and shows the avatars of the accounts. Spell checking support was added and basic account management tools were implemented.
Fixed issues with connecting external displays to the phone, which caused extra video memory allocation in KWin and Pinephone crashes. A new button is attached to the thumbnails of running applications, with which you can move the application to the external display.
As part of the development cycle for the next release, the concept of Primary Output is implemented, which allows you to control which screen will provide the default output. From a practical point of view, this feature will allow you to create complete workspaces by connecting an external display, keyboard and mouse, and it will also allow you to use the classic KDE Plasma desktop on external displays.
Finally, if you are interested in knowing more about this new update version, you can check the details In the following link.
Get Plasma Mobile 21.12
Those who are interested in having this new Plasma Mobile Gear 21.08 update should know that it is available in the software repositories of the various GNU / Linux distributions available for mobile devices, such as Manjaro Linux or PostmarketOS.