plasma 6.4 already a reality, offering a series of changes aimed at improving the user experience on the Linux desktop. This release marks the fourth major update to the 6 series and comes after months of intense work with contributions of all kinds, from visual tweaks to performance improvements.
Both veteran and newcomer users will be able to benefit from a range of new features covering key aspects such as color management, accessibility, customization, and overall environment stability. With this release, the KDE team reinforces its commitment to a well-designed and useful environment for all types of tasks.
Highlights in Plasma 6.4
Color management and HDR calibration
One of the main advances comes in the area of color management and support for HDR displays. An HDR calibration wizard is now available from the Display & Monitor section of Preferences, making it easier to adjust brightness and color on compatible devices.
New options are added such as activation of Extended Dynamic Range, color depth limitation on compatible monitors, and support for the P010 video format, which improves power efficiency when viewing HDR content.
Wayland as the protagonist
Wayland support continues to gain importance in Plasma 6.4. KWin, the window manager, now clearly separates X11 and Wayland code, which will accelerate development focused on the latter. The latest statistics indicate that a high percentage of users are already using Wayland, reflecting the changing trend in the KDE ecosystem.
Personalization: dynamic backgrounds and independent layouts
The Plasma Desktop expand customization possibilities with dynamic backgrounds: You can now switch between light and dark versions of a background based on time, as indicated in the background picker by new icons and split previews.
Each virtual desktop can have a different window layout (tiling layout), enabling customized organization based on the needs of each workspace. This configuration is especially useful for those who manage multiple tasks at once.
Visual and accessibility improvements in Plasma 6.4
The dark theme, known as Dark Breeze, increases the contrast between text and background. to make it easier to read. Additionally, when an authentication box appears, the desktop background darkens to help focus attention.
Accessibility options—such as color inversion and screen zoom—have been relocated within the corresponding section, making them easier to find. Animations and minor tweaks to widgets have also been added to improve the overall visual consistency.
Notifications and window management
Notifications improve their integration: when an application is in full screen mode, Plasma automatically activates the Do Not Disturb function to avoid interruptions, except for really important notifications. Additionally, you can now start installing updates directly from the corresponding notification without opening Discover.
From the Task Manager context menu, you can show or hide the title bar and window frame, providing greater flexibility. Also noteworthy is the option to hide system tray icons of applications that do not allow this to be done natively, although the system warns of possible risks when using this function.
Tweaks to widgets, menus, and other utilities
The Kicker app menu now allows horizontal scrolling. If the search returns many results, making them easier to view.
Dashboard widgets feature several new features, including the ability to choose a floating style even if the dashboard isn't floating, progress charts for file transfers, and improvements to the Disks and Devices widget, including disk repair options for errors.
The Bluetooth widget displays (optionally) the number of connected devices and the media player allows you to modify the playback speed if the source supports it.
Meanwhile, Spectacle, the screenshot tool, has a more intuitive and functional interface, opening in capture mode as soon as you press the corresponding key, and allowing new annotation and zoom options.
System Monitor and Information Center
The system monitor rearranges its main pages displaying relevant information such as GPU usage more prominently and grouping background services clearly.
The Information Center improves error reporting and information display on sensor pages by using monospaced font and respecting the system accent color.
Small, great details
After 18 years of petitioning, You can configure that when you drag files or folders to another location on the same disk, they are moved directly without asking each time.This option is not enabled by default, but can be enabled if that behavior is preferred.
Other changes range from improved search in KRunner and shortcut reorganization to the appearance of "New" labels next to newly installed applications in the main menu and faster loading of System Monitor components.
Refinement, polishing, and bug fixes in Plasma 6.4
This version has paid special attention to fixing recurring bugs and general stability.: from crashes when adding widgets to large panels, to file dialog compatibility with Flatpak applications, to the correct display of selection rectangles, or performance when adjusting brightness in combination with Night Light.
Crashes in widgets and utilities have been resolved, progressive loading in System Monitor elements has been optimized, and work has been done on full integration with browsers such as Chrome and Firefox via the Plasma portal.
Accessibility and user experience have also been improved with improvements to context menus, a reset option in settings panels, and clearer displays for graphics tablets.
Distributions such as openSUSE Tumbleweed, Arch Linux, Fedora, and KDE Neon will soon offer Plasma 6.4. in their stable repositories, ensuring rapid adoption by the community.
With this range of new features, Plasma 6.4 is presented as an update designed to both optimize performance and make everyday life easier, providing a more fluid, customizable, and robust experience for its users.
