The wait is over and the new version of the popular desktop environment GNOME 48 It is now available, bringing with it a series of improvements focused on optimizing performance, improving user experience, and introducing new features. This is the first major update of the year and promises to offer a smoother and more efficient environment on Linux systems.
Among the most notable features are the implementation of new fonts, a significant optimization in the management of notifications and initial support for high dynamic range (HDR) displays. In addition, the update introduces improvements to system stability and new tools for the digital well-being.
GNOME 48: HDR support and graphics performance improvements
One of the most relevant advances in GNOME 48 is the inclusion of preliminary support for HDR, which will improve color and contrast representation on compatible displays. Although it's still in its early stages, more applications are expected to adopt this technology in the future. To learn more about the performance promises in Mutter, you can read about the performance improvements in Mutter.
System performance has also benefited from the addition of the dynamic triple buffering, an improvement that reduces frame drops and improves the fluidity of animationsThis technique has been integrated into the Mutter window manager, optimizing the user experience, especially on graphics-intensive systems.
New notification management system
GNOME 48 introduces a system of notification grouping which allows you to organize them by application, making them easier to read and avoiding information overload in the notification center. Although expanding them still displays the full list, the interface has been redesigned to offer a better experience. To learn more about the improvements to the GNOME interface, you can check out the article on the CSS improvements in GNOME.
Typographic renewal and other visual changes
One of the most notable visual aspects in this version is the replacement of the Cantarell font with the new typeface family Adwaita Sans and Adwaita MonoThese fonts have been optimized for legibility, especially on high-density displays, bringing a more modern and clear design to the desktop environment.
Along with this change, there have also been made interface settings, including a slight modification in the appearance of buttons, text inputs and banners within the default apps.
Features focused on digital wellbeing and energy management
With this new version, GNOME follows the trend of modern operating systems by incorporating new tools digital well-being. Now users can monitor their screen time, set daily usage limits, and receive notifications to take regular breaks.
Another interesting feature is the advanced battery management, which allows limiting the charge to 80% when the device is connected, prolonging the vida use of the batería on compatible laptops. For other changes, it is recommended to read about What's new in GNOME 42.
Updated applications and new programs
GNOME 48 also brings new features to its suite of applications. Among these, the inclusion of Decibels, a minimalist audio player designed for playing sound files. Although its approach is simple, it is useful for listening podcast and distraction-free recordings.
El Loupe image viewer, which debuted in GNOME 45, has received updates that include basic editing tools such as cropping, rotation, and color adjustment. It also improves support for advanced image formats like RAW and XMP. For more on recent applications, you can check out the Black Box update.
Other system improvements and optimizations in GNOME 48
In addition to the visual and user experience changes, GNOME 48 includes internal optimizations that reduce the Resource consumption of the system. These include:
- Optimizing the JavaScript engine to reduce usage CPU y RAM.
- Improvement in file indexing, reducing the time to extract metadata from multimedia files.
- Greater stability and better graphics performance in external monitors connected to dedicated graphics cards.
With all these new features, GNOME 48 marks an important step in the evolution of the desktop environment, offering a more fluid, organized, and customizable experience for Linux users. It will soon be available on distributions such as Ubuntu 25.04 and Fedora 42, while users of rolling-release distributions can already try it from the official repositories.
