System76 releases COSMIC Desktop 1.6 with improved Chromium scaling and wallpaper tools

System76 has rolled out COSMIC Desktop 1.6, the latest version of its Rust‑based desktop environment for Pop!_OS and other rolling‑release Linux distributions. The update adds a compositor workaround that stabilises Chromium‑ and Electron‑based applications when display scaling is set below the default 100%, addressing long‑standing rendering glitches on high‑DPI screens.

Additional fixes include a deadlock in the D‑Bus accessibility keyboard monitor, corrected focus handling for X11 windows after remapping, and protection against crashes during GPU‑reset renderer creation. COSMIC Panel sees reduced CPU usage when the screen is locked and improved touch‑input reliability. Visual issues are resolved: frosted‑glass effects render correctly on newly attached external monitors, and panel pop‑ups now close on all displays before a new output is added, preventing inconsistent UI states. COSMIC Settings expands wallpaper management, allowing up to 500 images and supporting batch addition, while slider handles and a one‑pixel gap bug in multi‑monitor setups are fixed. Networking settings no longer store VPN usernames as secrets, and the settings daemon now releases idle Display Data Channel handles to stop brightness‑control hangs.