GNOME 46 released, will come with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and Fedora 40 next month

The GNOME Project has made version 46, codenamed Kathmandu, available for download. Some of the highlighted changes include remote login with RDP, variable refresh rates (VRR), accessibility improvements, enhanced notifications and settings, a new Files app with improved global search and other enhancements, and the addition of new apps in GNOME Circle.

Anyone that’s keen to try GNOME 46 will not have to wait very long. In April, Fedora 40 will be released first with GNOME 46 and then about one week later Canonical will release Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with GNOME 46.

One of the improvements in GNOME 46 that readers of Neowin may appreciate is the addition of Microsoft OneDrive to GNOME’s Online Accounts feature. In this release you will be able to connect a Microsoft 365 account in Settings and your OneDrive will appear in your Files sidebar where you can browse through it alongside your local files and folders.

Some deeper changes in GNOME 46 include reduced memory usage for search, better screen recording performance, more efficient resource handling by Image VIewer, and speed improvements in GNOME’s terminal apps.

The Image Viewer app and GNOME’s search technologies also feature better protection against malware - malware isn’t very widespread on Linux but these proactive measures will further help to protect users.

If you’re sensitive to rendering, then you’ll be glad to hear that GNOME 46 includes sharper interfaces, crisper on-screen text, and clearer UIs when using fractional display scales. These improvements are dependent on GNOME apps using the latest GTK version.

Aside from the search improvements in Files, the file transfer dialog has been improved somewhat in this update. In previous versions, the transfer dialog would be hidden in a small button on the upper left of the window that gradually filled as the file was copied and for users it wasn’t very clear if their file transfer had begun.

GNOME 46 now has the old file transfer button occupied by the search button and the file transfer dialog is moved to the bottom of the sidebar. Users will now see a circle that fills up as the file transfer progresses but also a bit of text that says files are being copied.

To learn more about GNOME 46, you should check out the extensive release notes that are available now.

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