KDE Plasma 6.3: New Features and Improvements in the Latest Version
On February 11, 2025, the KDE team announced the release of KDE Plasma 6.3, bringing significant improvements to user experience, performance optimizations, and new features that enhance customization. Here are the main updates.
Improved Fractional Scaling
If you use KDE Plasma on a high-resolution screen and take advantage of fractional scaling, you will notice a significant difference in interface clarity. This version introduces a complete overhaul of how KWin handles scaling, ensuring UI elements align better with the pixel grid, reducing blurriness and improving sharpness.
Additionally, the Zoom tool in KWin now displays a pixel alignment grid at high zoom levels, allowing users to precisely observe element placement on the screen.
Enhanced Customization
KDE Plasma 6.3 makes it easier to clone panels with a simple button in edit mode. Widget settings have also been improved, allowing easy removal even if they are no longer visible. Moreover, icons in the Kickoff menu category can now be customized using the Menu Editor.
In terms of design, this version marks the return of abstract and geometric wallpapers characteristic of KDE, moving away from the digital illustrations of previous releases.
Improvements for Creatives and Designers
Support for graphic tablets has been reorganized and improved with new options, such as:
- Mapping the tablet area to the entire screen.
- More precise calibration.
- A test function to display details about pen tilt and pressure.
- Adjustment of the stylus pressure curve and range.
- Reassignment of pen button functions.
- The "Highlight Changes" option in system settings now allows users to see which configurations have been modified.
CPU and Resource Monitoring
System monitor resource consumption has been optimized to use less CPU while providing more accurate data on processor usage.
Improvements in Discover and Software Management
Discover, KDE Plasma's application store, has received several improvements, including:
- Highlighting permission changes in Flatpak applications.
- Support for
flatpak://links. - Identification of verified applications from trusted sources such as Flathub.
- Snap management improvements, allowing individual updates and displaying progress with percentages and download speed.
Information Center and Notifications
The Information Center now displays details about battery charge cycles and more information about system GPUs.
Regarding notifications, when "Do Not Disturb" is enabled, disabling it will only show the number of missed notifications instead of a flood of alerts.
Other Improvements and New Features
- Option to automatically disable the touchpad when a mouse is connected.
- Improved compatibility with wireless headsets, displaying low battery alerts.
- New option to generate random passwords for shared networks.
- Spectacle now supports screen recording in animated WebP and GIF format.
- Improved Plasma integration with browsers, including support for the Flatpak version of Firefox.
- Kickoff changes categories with a single click, but the hover option remains available.
Availability
KDE Plasma 6.3 has been available since February 11, 2025, for KDE neon (stable edition) users and will soon arrive in rolling-release distributions. For systems with fixed versions, such as Ubuntu, it may be available through third-party repositories.
Without a doubt, KDE Plasma 6.3 continues to elevate the user experience with improvements in performance, customization, and stability. Have you tried this version yet?
