The release of the new version of KDE Plasma Mobile 22.02 was announced, which is based on the mobile edition of the Plasma 5 desktop, the KDE Frameworks 5 libraries, the ModemManager phone stack, and the Telepathy communication framework.
Plasma Mobile uses the kwin_wayland composite server to display graphics and PulseAudio for sound processing.
The structure includes applications like KDE Connect to pair the phone with a desktop system, document viewer Okular, VVave music player, Koko and Pix image viewer, Buho system reference notes, Calindori calendar planner, Index file manager, Discover application manager, SpaceBar SMS sending program, among other apps from the Plasma Mobile project.
KDE Plasma Mobile 22.02 Key New Features
In this new version that is presented, the mobile shell carries the changes from the recent release of KDE Plasma 5.24 and the name of the main mobile shell repository has been changed from plasma-phone-components to plasma-mobile.
It is also highlighted that quick settings dropdown panel has been redesigned, which also includes new widgets to control the playback of media content and display notifications, as well as improved handling of control gestures and that a basic version of the Quick Settings panel for tablets has been added, which is planned to be improved in the next version. .
Another change that stands out is that rewritten interface to switch between running applications (Task Switcher), which has been moved to use one line with app thumbnails and now supports control gestures.
Also fixed bugs in navigation bar which caused the bar to sometimes turn gray and break the display of the app thumbnails. In the future, it is planned to implement the ability to fully control gestures without being tied to the navigation bar.
Moreover, it is noted that the ability to launch the KRunner program search interface was added on the home screen by swiping down on the touch screen, as well as improved accuracy on screen gestures to open and close apps, and fixed issues that occurred when placing or removing plasmoids on the home screen. The app launcher and interface for switching between apps have been moved to use the main home screen window, without creating new windows, which has greatly improved the smoothness of animation on the Pinephone device.
Added ability to minimize to system tray the NeoChat messaging program, as network connection checks have been improved, the ability to attach labels to accounts (for visual separation of multiple accounts) has been implemented, and file sharing support has been added directly with other applications and online services, like Nextcloud and Imgur.
Of the other changes that stand out of the new version:
- A mobile version of the dialogs used to obtain permissions when accessing resources via Freedesktop portals (xdg-desktop-portal) is proposed.
- The QMLKonsole terminal emulator has improved handling of the Ctrl and Alt buttons.
- The configurator has implemented a search function and changed the style of the title, which now uses a more compact button to return to the previous screen.
- Added design option for the tablet configurator.
- The backend responsible for triggering the alarm has been redesigned.
- In the alarm clock, the interface for editing lists has been redesigned and support for assigning your own ringtones has been improved.
- Added a built-in dialog to set the signal and timers.
- The modernization of the Calindori calendar scheduler interface has started.
- Redesigned navigation in the PlasmaTube program, designed for watching YouTube videos.
- The control panel has been moved to the bottom of the screen and a button has been added to the header to return to the previous screen.
- The controls have been optimized for landscape mode in the Kasts podcast listener.
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