At the beginning of last month we echoed of a somewhat "strange" piece of news: the next version of Debian will use GNOME 48, which will be the latest iteration of the most used desktop on Linux. It's a bit strange because one of the hallmarks of the project and its distribution is that it usually uses slightly older, but more stable, software. Now it has been learned that the good news will come twice over. Debian 13.
El The second most used desktop is KDE, although it's gaining more and more followers every day. Unlike GNOME, which offers almost everything under the same name, KDE offers Plasma (graphical environment), Gear (applications), and Frameworks. The most recent version of the desktop, its flagship product, is Plasma 6.3.3, available yesterday. Versions 6.3.4 and 6.3.5 will also be released in the coming weeks, with the latter expected to be included in Debian 13.
Plasma 6.3 on Debian 13
As we read in his Wiki, the goal is to offer Qt 6.8.2, KDE Frameworks 6.12, plasma 6.3.5 and KDE Gear 24.12.3. Some applications will be from April 2024 (25.04), as long as they can be used without relying on any libraries. On the other hand, there will also be room for Qt 5.15.15 and KDE Frameworks 5.115, the latter so, let's say, nothing is left behind.
This will be the first Debian release to use Plasma 6, and it's not just for that reason that it's making news. It's for using the latest version... or almost. Unlike GNOME, KDE continues to release three versions a year, and Plasma 6.4 will arrive in June. Debian 13 is expected to arrive in mid-2025, but the project isn't giving an estimated date until it believes it has everything under control.
Therefore, if Trixie arrives before Plasma 6.4, we can say it's using the latest version, at least for a few days. Otherwise, it will simply use a very recent version with greater stability.
If anyone is thinking this is bad news, it's worth reminding them that Plasma 6 hasn't even seen its first LTS yet, so it's either this or an endless wait until 2027.