Experience Improved Performance with GNOME 46: New Desktop Features & Speedy File Handling!

GNOME is one of the main desktop environments for Linux, serving as the base for Ubuntu, Fedora, and many other systems. GNOME 46 is now available, with significant performance and usability improvements.

GNOME 46 includes a wide range of updates across the desktop environment and the included applications. The announcement blog post explains that this update is part of a significant modernization effort, which “will result in improved performance and reliability, and will enable compatibility with Wayland and sandboxed apps in the future.” There’s still more work to be done, but GNOME 46 includes many performance improvements, support for variable refresh rate (VRR) , and some security enhancements.

The Files app has received an overhaul, with a new progress section at the bottom of the sidebar, a global file search (accessible from the search button or with the Ctrl+Shift+F shortcut), more detailed date and time information, and improved discovery of network devices. Files should also feel less sluggish, as the GNOME team worked on a “significant code refactoring” that makes actions like switching the view mode much quicker.

There are also updates to GNOME’s Online Accounts system, which synchronizes data from online accounts across the core system applications (email, contacts, calendar, and so on), much like macOS and Windows. You could already connect a Microsoft account, but now OneDrive files can appear in the Files app, alongside the existing mail and contacts integration. The setup for online accounts now uses your default web browser, which fixes many issues (such as USB two-factor keys not working as expected), and you can now add a generic WebDAV account.

GNOME 46 has a redesigned Settings application, with easier navigation and fewer separate pages being the goal, much like we saw in the recent KDE 6 Plasma update . There’s a new “System” section that groups together options for region, language, date, time, users, remote desktop, secure shell, and the PC’s hardware and software information. The “Apps” page also been updated, and there are improved descriptions, more keyboard settings, and faster loading across the board.

GNOME 46 includes enhancements for remote desktop as well. There’s a new dedicated remote login option, allowing you to connect to a PC that is not already in use. The remote desktop uses the RDP protocol, so it should work with the same Microsoft Remote Desktop applications used for Windows PCs, as well as third-party client that support RDP.

Finally, many of the core applications in GNOME have been updated. The Software app now has verified badges for Flathub apps, Maps has dark mode support and expanded public transit information, Calendar has some design improvements, Contacts can now import multiple VCard files, and so on.

GNOME 46 should be available soon in rolling release distributions, such as Arch Linux and its depravities, but other Linux distros might take longer to update. Next month’s Ubuntu 24.04 update will include GNOME 46, as well as the upcoming Fedora 40 release.

Source: GNOME