Today, the KDE Project has announced the release of KDE Plasma 6.2, marking the second significant update in the KDE Plasma 6 series, introducing several new features and enhancements.
Among the highlights of KDE Plasma 6.2 are revamped power management capabilities, which now include per-monitor brightness adjustment, the option to override applications that prevent sleep or screen locking, and a keyboard shortcut, Meta+B, to switch between power profiles. Additionally, a badge indicating the current power profile has been added to the Battery Monitor widget’s icon, alongside the ability for the widget to remain visible during charging.
This release also introduces a new tone mapping feature in the KWin compositor designed to enhance image quality, improved brightness management for HDR and ICC profiles, and better HDR performance overall.
KDE Plasma 6.2 further enhances accessibility by adding features such as colorblindness filters in the Accessibility KCM, comprehensive Sticky Keys support on Wayland, and a revamped Accessibility KCM UI for improved user access. New input device functionalities include the capability to activate the “autoscrolling” feature of the Libinput driver and an option to turn off smooth scrolling in KDE apps.
Plasma Discover, the graphical package manager and app store from KDE, has seen enhancements in KDE Plasma 6.2, including support for the postmarketOS mobile operating system. Users can now shut down the system automatically after applying offline system updates, and there is improved accuracy in license information for applications, along with a revamped app review system.
New networking capabilities have also been introduced, featuring support for Enhanced Open (OWE) Wi-Fi security and WebAuth for SAML-based network authentication. Additionally, the System Settings app has benefitted from user interface overhauls in the Accessibility, Keyboard, and Thunderbolt KCM modules.
KDE Plasma 6.2 has made strides for digital artists, offering a drawing tablet calibration wizard, an option to reassign drawing tablet stylus buttons to various mouse click types, and the ability to map the drawing tablet area to the screen’s dimensions. A test mode for adjusting drawing tablet settings has been added as well, along with support for the Wayland color management protocol within KWin and a new feature to utilize the built-in color profile data from your monitor.
KDE Plasma 6.2 introduces an improved layout for the System Tray’s expanded grid view, a redesigned user experience for the Widget Explorer, and enhanced visual representations of Plasma features within the Welcome Center. Additionally, the update includes support for accent color settings that honor the Breeze Dark Plasma theme and the Breeze Twilight global theme.
Moreover, the update also features a new sound notification for when screens are connected or disconnected, along with an option to disable window outlines within the Pager widget. There is now a Memory page available in the Info Center application, an alpha-modifier KWin protocol, an initial implementation of SVG cursor theming, and an annual request for donations for those wishing to support the KDE project.
With this update, the KDE Plasma desktop environment will feature a consistent “Open With” dialog across all applications. Additionally, the KWin Morphing Popups effect has been removed due to persistent bugs, and users can now drag Breeze-themed windows solely from their header areas by default. Custom shortcuts can now be named, and the “Minimize All” widget will now only minimize windows within the current virtual desktop and activity.
Visit the release announcement page for further information. KDE Plasma 6.2 is set to enter the stable software repositories of several popular rolling-release, KDE-focused distributions, such as KDE neon, openSUSE Tumbleweed, Arch Linux, and more.
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