The history of the KDE version of Ubuntu with updated desktops stopped in April 2023. Plasma 5.27 had just arrived back then, and they didn't release anything new — new series, yes point releases — until February of this year 2024. Since 24.04 was an LTS release, KDE didn't want to take any risks and stayed on the same 5.27. A few hours ago have thrown Kubuntu 24.10, and a new Plasma has finally arrived for its users.
The truth is that the developers of KDE The Kubuntu folks — pretty much the same folks who work on KDE neon — had little room to maneuver in this story. Squeezing an unstable Plasma into an LTS release would have been a bad idea. It's also true that those stuck on LTS releases will have to spend a long time without tasting a new Plasma, unless they add the option to the repository. backports, yet to be confirmed.
Kubuntu 24.04 Highlights
- Supported for 9 months, until July 2025.
- Linux 6.11.
- Plasma 6.1.5. It is the fifth point update plasma 6.1, which introduced new features such as:
- Remote access. An extra package may be required.
- The customization tool is more visually appealing.
- Improvements in Wayland.
- Backlit keyboards can now sync key colors to match the accent color.
- The options you see when trying to quit Plasma have been simplified. If you click on “Shut Down”, you will now see only that option and the cancel option, and the same goes for the other options. If you click on the shutdown button, all of them will appear.
- Option that makes the cursor enlarge when you shake the mouse or hover over the touchpad.
- Wayland by default.
- Qt 6.6.12.
- KDE Frameworks 6.6.0 in combination with 5.116.
- KDE Gear 24.8.1, although there are some that have remained on 23.08.
- Applications updated to new versions, such as LibreOffice 24.8.2.
- APT 3.0, with new image.
- Open SSL 3.3.
- systemd v256.5.
- Netplan v1.1.
- OpenJDK 21 by default, but OpenJDK 23 available as an option.
- .NET 9.
- GCC 14.2.
- binutils 2.43.1.
- glubc 2.40.
- Python 3.12.7.
- LLVM 19.
- Rust 1.80.
- golang 1.23.
Now available
Kubuntu 24.10 can now be downloaded from the following button, although, in case it fails, its official page is kubuntu.org and the link to the server is this. Updates from within the operating system will be enabled soon, although you may need to change your settings to make it appear.