KDE developers are working on the upcoming Plasma 6.8 desktop release, scheduled for release on October 14, 2026. One of this week’s biggest updates is support for styling traditional QtWidgets apps with KDE’s new Union theming system.
Union is KDE’s project to create a more unified way to theme applications. So far, most of the work has focused on newer interfaces built with QML and Kirigami. Now, for the first time, it includes QtWidgets apps, which could let older and newer KDE apps share a consistent look.
Right now, this feature is still in its early stages. KDE says there are many visual glitches and known bugs, so users should not expect a finished product yet.
Plasma 6.8 also brings several updates to KDE’s built-in RDP server. It can now automatically adjust image quality based on network bandwidth, aiming to keep the frame rate steady even when the connection changes.
Moreover, KDE reduced screen-casting latency in Plasma and KWin by one frame. This improvement applies to the built-in RDP feature too, making remote desktop sessions feel more responsive.
KWin is also getting more graphics improvements. Full-screen content should now use fewer resources and run more efficiently on Intel and NVIDIA GPUs, even when features like HDR, ICC color profiles, or Night Light are turned on.
Additionally, KWin now supports HDR content using the HLG transfer function, making Plasma’s HDR features even better. Also, Spectacle screenshots without transparent pixels will no longer include an alpha channel, so the files will be a bit smaller.
Several smaller usability improvements are on the way too. The Overview effect will be easier to trigger with a four-finger touchpad gesture. When connecting to an enterprise Wi-Fi network for the first time, users will go straight to the page to enter their credentials.
Plasma’s clipboard history now handles sensitive content more clearly. If an app marks copied text, like a password, as secret, the clipboard will show what happened instead of leaving users confused about missing items.
In the System Tray, clicking an icon to open a widget will no longer make the icon disappear while the popup is open. Disabled System Tray widgets will now free up their memory right away, instead of waiting for Plasma or the system to restart.
On top of that, Discover will now only offer to open and install DEB packages on systems that support them. KDE also fixed a problem where Discover could get stuck checking for updates if the Snap backend was installed, but no Snap upgrades were available.
Another Plasma 6.7.5 fix stops crashes in non-KDE apps when closing certain dialogs. KDE also fixed a recent issue that made pointer movement worse in virtual machines using non-accelerated graphics drivers. HDR rendering with an active ICC profile has also been improved.
Outside of Plasma, KDE Frameworks 6.30 will make in-window dialogs in Kirigami apps easier to see when using dark themes. System Monitor graphs will also use tabular numerals where possible, so numbers line up better.
KDE Gear 26.12 is also getting some early updates, like a rewrite of the System Settings Proxy page in QML. The design looks mostly the same, but now the page will work on Plasma Mobile.
More details about the ongoing development work are available in KDE’s latest “This Week in Plasma” report.
