KDE Plasma 6.8 released, marking transition to Wayland

The KDE project has released KDE Plasma 6.8, marking its 30th anniversary with a major architectural shift. The most significant change is the official discontinuation of X11 sessions, making Wayland the primary display protocol. While legacy X11 applications can still function via XWayland, the transition removes certain features like window shading and changes how saved sessions and window positioning behave.

This release introduces several performance and functional enhancements. For Nvidia users, Plasma 6.8 enables triple-buffered output to improve animation smoothness. The Spectacle screenshot tool now supports recording system audio and microphone input. Additionally, the update includes a native backup tool called Kup, improved High Dynamic Range (HDR) support following ICC color profiles, and better multi-monitor management.

Other refinements include improved VRAM tracking in the System Monitor, the ability to pin tasks to specific CPU cores, and enhanced accessibility options. The update also improves integration with non-KDE tools, such as the Flatpak version of Microsoft Edge, and expands internationalization support for calendars and keyboards.