KDE enters 2026 with accessibility improvements while adding visual enhancements and fixing bugs

  • KDE is preparing several accessibility improvements.
  • As always, he has taken the opportunity to fix bugs.
Pablinux

4 minutes

Fixing bugs in KDE Plasma 6.5

The developers of KDE They're gradually returning from their Christmas holidays. There was no weekly update seven days ago, but we've already entered 2026 and many of them are back at work. And they must have been eager to return, since they've earned an extra €385000 thanks to the 2025 year-end initiative, which you can find more information about at [link to initiative]. this link.

But let's get to what interests us in this type of article, which is the New features in PlasmaOne new development, though not explicitly stated, is the lack of mention of how many 15-minute, high-priority bugs remain to be fixed. It's unclear if this will be the case going forward, but the note only lists changes made and bugs fixed. Here's our list.

New Features Coming to KDE

plasma 6.6.0

  • The "Slow keys" accessibility feature has been implemented for Plasma's Wayland session.
  • The zoom effect now includes a mode in which the pointer never leaves the physical center of the screen.
  • The Emoji Picker app now allows you to choose a preferred skin tone for hand and people emojis.

KDE Emoji Picker

  • It is now possible to disable visible timeout indicators in notifications if they are stressful.

notifications-kcm-option-to-disable-timeout-indicators

KDE interface improvements

plasma 6.5.5

  • When Discover suggests searching the internet for an app that couldn't be found, the search string now includes the correct operating system name if you're not using a Linux-based one.

plasma 6.6.0

  • Using a game controller now counts as "activity," preventing the system from automatically going into sleep mode or locking the screen.
  • When a laptop is plugged in or unplugged while in sleep mode, it now wakes up taking into account the current state.
  • The touchscreen page in System Preferences is now hidden when no touchscreens are connected.
  • The display selector in the OSD now includes a button to open the full System Preferences page if none of the built-in options are relevant.

Screen selector in the OSD

  • When you create a sticky note on the desktop by middle-clicking to paste, the text area immediately receives focus and is ready to be edited.
  • The appearance of the overlay badges on Plasma widgets has been subtly improved, especially those on the system tray.

plasma widgets

  • In the Apps Panel launcher, category highlights now occupy the full width of the area, achieving a more cohesive appearance.
  • The task selector style with large icons now better displays a large number of icons by distributing them across multiple rows instead of scrolling them horizontally.

Performance and technical in KDE

plasma 6.6.0

  • OpenBSD compatibility has been improved and corrected in multiple areas.

Coming soon to your KDE distribution

KDE Plasma 6.5.5 is expected to arrive on January 13th, and Frameworks 6.22 on January 9th. Plasma 6.6 is expected on February 17th, 2026. No official announcement has been made yet, so it is expected that there will continue to be three Plasma versions throughout at least 2026.

Vía: KDE Blog.