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Kubuntu 24.10 brings some new things, including the Plasma 6 desktop and a Wayland-based display server by default.
Out on 10 October, 2024, Kubuntu 24.10 is the first interim release of the new development cycle that will lead to the next long term support (LTS) version, Kubuntu 26.04, due out in April 2026. Before then, there will be two additional interim releases, 25.04 and 25.10.
This new Kubuntu version is the 40th release. Because the very first Kubuntu version, 5.10, was released on 8 April, 2005, the next Kubuntu release, 25.04, will mark 20 years of Kubuntu!
Installation
I downloaded the Kubuntu 24.10 ISO file from the official source using BitTorrent and carried out a command line SHA256 sum check on the file to make sure it was good.
At 4.7 GB, this ISO file is 13% bigger than the last release, Kubuntu 24.04 LTS, which was 4.1 GB.
I dropped the Kubuntu 24.10 ISO onto a USB stick equipped with Ventoy 1.0.99 and booted it up from there. That worked well, but that was not a surprise, as Kubuntu is officially listed as supported by Ventoy.
System requirements
The recommended minimum system requirements for Kubuntu 24.10 are the same as for Ubuntu. They have not changed this release, although they have been updated in format and are now officially listed as: 2 GHz dual-core processor 4096 MiB RAM (system memory) for physical installs 2048 MiB RAM for virtualised installs 25 GB (8.6 GB for minimal) of hard-drive space (or USB stick, memory card or external drive, but see LiveCD for an alternative approach) 3D acceleration-capable GPU with at least 256 MB of VRAM 1024×768 or higher resolution display USB flash drive or DVD drive for the installer media Internet access is helpful
New
Kubuntu has been using the Plasma 5 desktop since it first arrived in 2014. Now, after ten years, Plasma 6 has landed in Kubuntu but, if you have been waiting all that time for something really different, you may be disappointed, as most average desktop users will not notice the difference.
The introduction of Plasma 6 in Kubuntu was put off until this first interim release of the new cycle to make sure that the LTS version, just out in April, 2024, had the most stable, tested and reliable desktop. Bringing in Plasma 6 now is good timing, as it allows the three Kubuntu interim releases to try it out and make sure it works flawlessly before it lands in the next LTS version in April, 2026. Waiting longer to put Plasma 6 into Kubuntu 24.10 also means that this release has Plasma 6.1.5, a later bugfix version that is a safer bet, than the very first Plasma 6 version put out. This quite conservative thinking on the part of the Kubuntu developers prioritizes the Kubuntu user experience over early adoption.
So what is actually included in KDE Plasma 6? In testing, it has the same look and feel as Plasma 5 did, but introduces the ability to access remote Plasma desktops, an overhauled Plasma edit mode, persistent applications (meaning that they reopen on startup), synchronizes keyboard colored LEDs, and screen locking which allows the user to configure it like a traditional screensaver (can be set to not ask for a password to unlock it). It also has a “shake the cursor” feature which makes the cursor grow in size when you shake it via the mouse or touch pad – to help locate the cursor on that cluttered screen when you lose it. In addition, it has a new “edge barrier” feature for multi-monitor setups – used when you want to access items at the very edge of one of the monitors. This “barrier” provides a “sticky” area for the cursor near the edge between the screens, and that makes it easier to click on objects without having the cursor jump over to the next screen. There are also some minor tweaks to menus and such.
There is no user paradigm shift here between Plasma 5 and 6 like there was between GNOME 2 and GNOME 3 in 2011 when the whole interface was changed. In fact, that GNOME disaster is why I am going to argue that the minimal changes involved in the move from Plasma 5 to 6 are a good thing. I don't see anyone forking Plasma 5 in an attempt to save it.
All of this adds up to not-much-change for most average desktop users. People who do not have a need for remote desktops, or use multiple screens, are not going to find much difference from Plasma 5 here. So, if you loved Plasma 5, you will probably love Plasma 6 just as much. I just hope you didn't spend the last ten years in anticipation of Plasma 6, hoping it would change your life.
In other news of changes for Kubuntu 24.10, as is normally the case with most Kubuntu releases, this one has a new default wallpaper entitled Scarlet Tree by axo1otl. It has both light and dark wallpaper modes, which swap over automatically when you change the window color scheme. If this is too bright and busy for you, there are 45 wallpapers provided, many of them from recent Kubuntu releases. As is usually the case with Kubuntu, the developers did not provide a code name tie-in wallpaper. Across the Ubuntu universe this whole family of 24.10 releases is called “Oracular Oriole”, but on Kubuntu there are no oriole-themed wallpapers.
Kubuntu 24.10 employs the Qt 6.6.2 toolkit, KDE Frameworks 6.6.0, and has fresh applications from KDE Gear 24.08. Like all the Ubuntu 24.10 series of releases, it comes with Linux kernel 6.11 and uses systemd 256.5 as its initialization system.
Recent Kubuntu releases have been using the legacy X11 display server and offering a Wayland server as an experimental test option. Kubuntu 24.20 has the reverse. With Plasma 6 being Wayland-ready, Wayland is now the default, with X11 still available at boot up. Wayland does bring some improvements, including that Explicit Sync eliminates flickering and other issues often seen by NVidia users, and that the Wayland Triple Buffering support means animations and screen rendering will be smoother. It can be noted that live sessions are still X11, though.
Normally, the first interim release following an LTS gives some indication of the direction that the development cycle is going or at least points to what can be expected in the next LTS release. If this first interim release is taken as a guide, then we can look for newer versions of Plasma 6 that will add some features but not any other big changes to Kubuntu.
Settings
Kubuntu with Plasma 6 remains highly customizable and still gives users a wide range of choices of how they want it to look.
Kubuntu 24.10 comes with five global themes, four application styles, five Plasma styles, five window color schemes, three window decoration styles, seven icon sets, 13 cursor styles, three system soundscapes, three splash screens (including “none” as an option), three login screens, and ten boot splash screens. As always, those are just the installed options, as most of the settings pages have one-button downloads to fetch many more from the internet. Kubuntu has always had a wide assortment of user choices, which is just one of the reasons for its popularity.
Kubuntu 24.10 comes with 67 desktop widgets, one fewer than in the last few releases. These widgets are small applications that can be added to the desktop, like clocks and weather reports. Hundreds more of them can be downloaded for installation, depending only on your tolerance for clutter.
Applications
Some of the applications included with Kubuntu 24.10 are: Ark 24.08.1 archive manager Discover 2.1.2 software store* Dolphin 24.08.1 file manager Elisa 24.08.1 music player Firefox 131.0.2 web browser Gwenview 24.08.1 image viewer Haruna 0.12.3 video player* Kate 24.08.1 text editor Kcalc 24.08.1 calculator KDE Partition Manager 23.08.5 partition editor* Konsole 24.08.1 terminal emulator Kmahjongg 23.08.5 game* Kmines 23.08.5 game* Konversation 23.08.5 IRC client* Kpatience 23.08.5 game* Ksudoku 23.08.5 game* LibreOffice 24.8.2 office suite, less only LibreOffice Base database NeoChat 23.08.5 Matrix client* Okular 24.05.2 PDF viewer PipeWire 1.2.4 audio controller Plasma System Monitor 6.1.5 system monitor Skanlite 23.08.5 scanning utility* SkanPage 23.08.5 multi-page scanning utility* Spectacle 24.05.2 screenshot tool Startup Disk Creator 0.3.17 (usb-creator-kde) USB ISO writer* Systemd 256.5 init system Thunderbird 128.3.1 ESR email client Vim 9.1.0496 console text editor
* indicates same application version as used in Kubuntu 24.04 LTS ** supplied as a Snap, so version depends on the upstream package manager
There has been no change in the mix of applications provided since Kubuntu 24.04 LTS. As can be seen from the list, while there are some new application versions from the KDE Gear 24.08 collection, there are also a lot of older versions leftover from KDE Gear 23.08.5, as shown by all the asterisks.
LibreOffice 24.8.2 is supplied complete, missing only LibreOffice Base, the office suite's database application. Base is probably the least used component of the suite but it can be added from the repositories, if required.
While this list of default applications does provide a good assortment for most desktop users, as in past releases, Kubuntu 24.10 does not include a webcam application, an image editor or video editor by default, although there are many options in the repositories.
Conclusions
Kubuntu 24.10 is a good, solid release that works well. There do not seem to be any major issues in moving to the new Plasma 6 desktop. If it does not bring many new features, at least it does not break anything. Perhaps its biggest advantage is allowing a clean shift to a Wayland display server as default, with an X11 back-up.
Kubuntu 24.10 provides a lot of what has made Kubuntu a success with its user base: many options and scope for customization, plus a stable Plasma 6 Linux desktop.
External links
Official website: https://kubuntu.org/