Linux Mint has given an early preview of features in development for its next release, v23.0, scheduled for Christmas 2026. Two new desktop apps are the main highlights: a Calendar app and an EPUB book reader.
A standout new feature is Clockenstein, a calendar app that will show up as “Calendar” on the desktop. It supports several calendars, including local, Google Calendar, and CalDAV services like Nextcloud.
Users can create and edit events and choose which calendar to use. Clockenstein also keeps calendars in sync in the background with its own service.
If a remote calendar goes offline, its events stay visible but become read-only until the connection returns. The app also lets users know about sync or connection issues right away.
Reminders work even if the Calendar window is closed. Clockenstein has a separate notification tool that shows event reminders on the desktop, with options to dismiss or snooze them.
The app also works with Cinnamon. The Cinnamon clock applet can access calendar info, so users can see upcoming events right from the desktop panel.
The other new app is Xepub, an EPUB reader that will show up on the desktop as “Book Reader.”
Linux Mint says using Xepub feels like reading on a Kindle or Kobo. It lets users jump between chapters, search the whole book, add bookmarks, and automatically remembers where you left off.
When you select a word, you can quickly use search engines to look up definitions, search Wikipedia, or translate text. You can also highlight passages, choose different colors, and add notes as annotations.
You can also change fonts and zoom levels to make reading more comfortable. Additionally, the Mint team is also updating Thingy, which appears on the desktop as “Library.”
Before, Library grouped documents by the app used to open them. For example, PDFs and other files supported by XReader would show up together under Document Viewer.
Now, documents are grouped by file type instead, so organization does not depend on which apps are installed. Plus, you can now remove single items from the recent-document list, or clear the whole history at once.
The sidebar has preset groups for common document types, and you can reorder or hide them. You can also make your own groups, mix file types, and limit a group to a certain folder, like one for a specific project.
And finally, just one more reminder that these changes are still in development. For additional details, see Mint’s announcement.
Image credits: Linux Mint
