There's a new version of KDE’s Plasma in town, and it's got plenty to offer. Even before you see the latest version of the desktop, Plasma is already improving user experience. The new KDE Initial System Setup (KISS) tool, designed specifically for OEM installations, lets you configure the Plasma Desktop to your specifications on first boot.

While the new rounded window corners using the Breeze decoration might not be a game-changer, they certainly add a bit more polish to an already beautiful desktop environment. Other enhancements include the new ink-level display for supported printers, improved tone mapping for HDR content, a grayscale mode that desaturates all colors, support for the XDG Wallpaper portal, and improved Wayland support (such as activating/raising windows, improved screenreader, and the ability to activate Sleep, Shutdown, and Restart functions from within the Kickoff app menu with the Enter key).

Plasma also no longer requires a separate account for remote connection. With version 6.5, you can use your standard user account to connect.

Other improvements include support for auto-switching Global Themes at night, the ability to hibernate your computer from the SDDM login screen, and added support for flatpak+https:// URLS for simplified installation of Flatpak apps. To use the new Flatpak feature, you can now just click the Install button on a Flathub app page, and Discover will automatically open so you can install the app.

Read more about the new release on KDE's official Plasma 6.5 release page.