The KDE Plasma desktop environment has long been a favorite among countless Linux enthusiasts and open-source advocates, known for its stunning visuals, customizability, and user-friendly design.
The current stable release, KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS, is the last in the 5.x series and will receive bugfixes only, but no new features.
In this light, in recent months, all developer efforts have been focused on the upcoming Plasma 6 release, which is expected to be a turning point in the evolution of this beloved desktop environment.
As we informed you last month, KDE’s devs already announced a wallpaper contest for Plasma 6.
But what is more important, at Akademy, its annual world summit, they laid out a plan shedding quite a bit of light on when we can expect the final stable release of Plasma 6, along with its adjacent KDE Frameworks 6 and the new KDE Gear apps collection.
So, now the anticipation is reaching a fever pitch as the KDE devs has announced on its mailing list the release schedule for KDE Plasma 6, set to make its grand debut in February 2024.
Additionally, yesterday, Christoph Cullmann, a developer from the KDE team, also published an article on the topic on his blog.
So here’s the roadmap. The first alpha of Plasma 6 is expected to appear in November this year, followed by three consecutive betas and an RC between December 2023 and January 2024. The final stable Plasma 6 release is slated for February 2024.
Of course, the developers reserve the right to change this schedule in the event of unforeseen circumstances, but the initial intention is that the deadlines will be met.
In the meantime, several features, such as KHotkeys, windowed widgets, System Settingsโ icons view, and a few more, are expected to be removed; you can learn more about this here.
What can we say in conclusion? KDE Plasma 6 promises to be a game-changer in desktop environments, bringing many new features, enhancements, and a refined user experience.
With the clearly outlined roadmap, we must only wait patiently for the next few months to enjoy the new release. So, mark your calendars and prepare for a new desktop computing era with KDE Plasma 6.
