Gnome 48 Debuts New Audio Player
To date, the audio player found within the Gnome desktop has been meh at best, but with the upcoming release that all changes.
Whenever I install a distribution with the Gnome desktop, one of the first things I do is install a better audio player as the default has always been pretty bland.
With the upcoming Gnome 48, that all changes thanks to Decibels. This no-frills audio player does one thing – plays audio files – and does it with a stripped-down UI and a bare minimum of features. Decibels is notan app to manage your music but an app to play your music.
The Decibels feature set is pretty slim at the moment. It includes audio playback, waveform display, a scrubbable seek bar, speed control, volume slider, and 10 and 30 seconds forward/backward buttons. You won't even find a preferences window or any customizations available. Decibels is stripped down and simple. You can't add multiple songs for playback, as Decibels isn't capable of queuing files; Decibels is one file at a time and nothing more.
For those who like their apps clean and simple, Decibels will be a treat. Hopefully, those in charge of the app will add the ability to at least queue an entire album of songs at once. That addition alone would level up this app.
For those who simply cannot wait for the release of Gnome 48 (or, possibly, the release of Ubuntu 25.04), you can install Decibels from Flathub with the command flatpak install decibels.
You can check out the Decibels GitLab site for more information.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
-
VirtualBox 7.2 Has Arrived
With early support for Linux kernel 6.17 and other new additions, VirtualBox 7.2 is a must-update for users.
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.