The latest weekly KDE development report has unveiled the initial wave of changes for the upcoming KDE Plasma 6.7 branch, set for release in June. The development of this new branch kicked off following the translation of the KDE Plasma 6.6 branch to the beta testing phase and the freezing of the associated code base to only allow for bug fixes. The release date for KDE Plasma 6.6 is marked for February 17.
Some key innovations in the works for KDE Plasma 6.7 include the implementation of a global push-to-talk mode, which activates the microphone only when specific key combinations are pressed and held. Additionally, buttons for quick toggling between light and dark design modes have been added to the brightness and color control widgets. The Discover application manager is also set to introduce separate subcategories for launchers and utilities in its “Games” section.
Several other improvements are on the horizon, such as displaying page settings for game controllers, mouse, and touchpad only if these devices are present, enhancing touch screen editing elements on desktop systems, and refining search recommendations in the System Monitor application. Furthermore, support for tracking network activity on the FreeBSD platform is being implemented in widgets and the System Monitor application.
Meanwhile, the beta version of KDE Plasma 6.6 brings forth some changes as well, including the introduction of a new on-screen keyboard called plasma-keyboard. This new keyboard is designed to eventually replace the current virtual keyboard, Maliit, and is based on the Qt Virtual Keyboard.