A month after its previous 24.08.3 release, KDE has rolled out the latest version of its app collection, KDE Gear 24.12. It’s a massive update packed with new functionalities and various fixes. Here are the details.
Okular
Okular, KDE’s robust document viewer, gains even more versatility this time. It can handle a wide variety of file formats, sign documents, and verify official signatures, and now it also supports additional item types in PDF form combo boxes.
Under the hood, printing is both faster and more reliable, and the digital signing process has been streamlined so that the signing window remains open until the procedure truly finishes.
Kleopatra
Kleopatra, KDE’s specialized certificate and cryptography management app, has received a thoughtful redesign. The notepad and signing encryption dialog were revamped, improving clarity and usability.
Now, the text editor and recipient view sit side-by-side, helping you craft and encrypt messages at a glance. The result is a sleeker interface that makes managing keys, signatures, and certificates feel much more intuitive.
Merkuro
Merkuro, designed to help you manage tasks, events, and contacts, now shows your contacts’ OpenPGP and S/MIME certificates directly in Merkuro Contact. Just click on a certificate to open Kleopatra and learn more. This tight integration means you can keep track of security details without juggling multiple apps.
Kdenlive
Kdenlive, KDE’s highly regarded video editor, introduces an even more user-friendly workflow by allowing you to resize multiple timeline items simultaneously. This might seem like a small tweak, but it can make a big difference when you’re immersed in a complex editing project.
Kwave
Kwave, the native audio editor for KDE, had been on the backburner for a while, but it’s now back with fresh updates. After porting Kwave to Qt6 for seamless compatibility with Plasma 6, the interface received more modern icons and visual cues, especially when pausing playback.
Dolphin
Dolphin, KDE’s flagship file manager, emerges as a standout in this release. The main view has been completely overhauled to work smoothly with screen readers, significantly improving accessibility.
Keyboard navigation is more intuitive—pressing Ctrl+L multiple times moves focus from the location bar path to the view and back, while pressing Escape in the location bar returns focus to the active view. Toolbar navigation has also been refined to ensure elements are focused in a logical, user-friendly order.
When sorting files, Dolphin’s approach now feels more “human,” placing “a.txt” before “a 2.txt.” You can also sort videos by duration. Meanwhile, the Properties dialog’s checksum and permissions tab have been redesigned for easier file integrity checks, a change that will appear in other KDE applications as well.
But perhaps the most exciting update is Dolphin’s mobile-friendly interface. With improved touchscreen compatibility and a new selection mode, Dolphin is now well on its way toward providing a full-fledged file management experience on phones.
KCron
KCron makes scheduling tasks on your system straightforward, even if you’re not a UNIX veteran. Now integrated into System Settings under “Session” > “Task Scheduler,” KCron’s configuration page has been ported to QML and sports a modernized interface. Whether you’re running system backups at midnight or performing regular cleanup tasks, KCron’s neat new look helps get the job done.
KDE Connect
KDE Connect, which links your desktop, phone, and other devices, now supports Bluetooth—no more jumping through hoops to establish seamless communication. On macOS, startup times are dramatically shorter, improving from 3 seconds down to a mere 100ms.
The device list interface has also been revamped to display connected and remembered devices separately, and the plugin list can be conveniently filtered.
KRDC
KRDC, the tool for RDP and VNC remote desktop access, now opens .rdp files directly and works better on Wayland systems. This improved workflow simplifies how you connect to remote machines, making KRDC more reliable than ever.
KDE Itinerary
Itinerary reorganizes how it manages tickets, reservations, and travel details. It now groups related entries into distinct trips, each with its own timeline and helpful statistics, such as CO2 emissions, total distance traveled, and overall costs.
Users can also export and view entire trips on a map, plus handle geo:// URLs to launch trip planning directly with a pre-selected arrival location.
In addition, Itinerary now supports searching not only for stops but also for places like street names. New services have been added—ranging from local event platforms to global transportation networks—making Itinerary more versatile for a wide range of travelers.
Kongress
Kongress, a handy companion for conferences and events, shows more details in the event list, including bookmarked sessions and detailed event locations. This helps you stay organized and never miss a beat at your favorite gatherings.
Marble
Marble, the virtual globe and atlas, has been ported to Qt6 and polished with a modernized Kirigami-based interface. Marble Behaim, which lets you explore historical globes, now works seamlessly, further enriching Marble’s role as both an educational tool and a navigation aid.
For more information, see the release notes. KDE Gear 24.12 apps collection tarballs can be downloaded from the source info page, as the full changelog provides a deeper dive into the update.
Lastly, most of the KDE Gear 24.12 apps will soon be available on Flathub and Snap Store. Rolling release distributions can expect the app collection in their respective distros’ repositories in the coming days and weeks.
