KDE Plasma 6.2 Desktop Released

Release Date: October 8, 2024

KDE Plasma 6.2, the third major release in the Plasma 6.x series, introduces a host of new features, bug fixes, and improvements focused on performance and user experience, particularly for digital artists and power users. It follows the Plasma 6.0 and 6.1 releases, ironing out earlier issues related to the migration to Qt6 and Wayland.

Key Features and Improvements

1. Drawing Tablet Support

Improved Tools: Artists can now enjoy an enhanced experience with new configuration options for drawing tablets, including a calibration wizard, test mode, and the ability to re-bind stylus buttons.
System Integration: The Drawing Tablet section in System Settings allows users to adjust tablet configurations without needing to install new drivers, offering improved compatibility for various devices.

2. Power Management Enhancements

Profile Switching: Users can now override apps that prevent the system from sleeping or locking the screen. Separate brightness controls for multiple monitors are also introduced.
New Shortcuts: The Super + B shortcut lets users easily switch between power profiles (power save, normal, performance), with visual icons indicating the active mode.

3. Wayland Improvements

Color Management: Full support for the Wayland color management protocol is enabled by default. Enhanced HDR and ICC profile support ensure better handling of brightness and color accuracy across monitors.
Tone Mapping: Plasma 6.2 introduces tone mapping to improve the display of images that have brightness levels beyond the screen's capacity.

4. Visual and UI Enhancements

Accent Colors and Icons: Subtle improvements include tweaks to accent colors, a reworked Widget Explorer, and unified appearance for dialog windows and pop-ups.
Application Menu: The app menu now uses symbolic icons for categories, making it easier to navigate and reducing visual clutter.
Accessibility Features: New filters for color blindness and enhanced support for sticky keys on Wayland make Plasma more accessible for a wider range of users.

5. Discover and Updates

PostmarketOS Support: Plasma 6.2 now supports PostmarketOS packages for mobile devices via Discover.
App Reviews: Users can now write better app reviews with more accurate license information.
Offline Updates: An option to shut down after an offline update is now available, in addition to the reboot option.

Full Changelog

For a detailed list of all the updates and bug fixes in KDE Plasma 6.2, refer to the official Plasma 6.2 changelog.

Availability

KDE Plasma 6.2 is available to users of KDE neon and rolling-release distributions. Users of fixed-release distros may need to install it manually via third-party repositories or package managers.

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