KDE Plasma 6.6 is almost here, and this Linux distro gave me an early look - here's how

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ZDNET's key takeaways

KDE Neon Unstable gives you a glimpse of what's coming.
KDE Plasma 6.6 is shaping up to be something special.
The only thing missing is the new login manager.

KDE Plasma 6.6 is upon us. Feb. 17 is the official release date, and there's plenty to be excited about. We'll be getting improvements for displays, UI, security, and more. Certain default apps are being switched out, and there'll be the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

All-in-all, 6.6 is looking to be a rather exciting release. I've written about it, and now I've tested it by using the KDE Neon Unstable edition.

I don't usually suggest using alpha or beta versions of Linux distributions, but in this case, the Unstable edition is one of the easiest ways of seeing 6.6 in action.

And it's worth it.

I spun up a virtual machine, using KVM/Virt-Manager. It took me three tries to get it working because I kept forgetting to switch from BIOS to UEFI. After that facepalm moment, I had Neon Unstable up and running, and, oh my, how sweet it is.

First impressions

The first thing I had to do was run a system upgrade, which also required a reboot. It never ceases to surprise me when a Linux distribution requires a reboot to apply updates. I'm used to rebooting when a kernel is upgraded, but that's always been something to do manually (until said time, the previous kernel will power the OS).

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Beyond the gorgeous default wallpaper, I noticed how smooth the animations are; I'm talking buttery, silky smooth. I was watching the login screen for a moment, and when it faded (from a timeout), I was taken aback by the animation.

Keep in mind that 6.6 is supposed to use the new KDM Login Manager; however, when I dug into it, I noticed it was still using SDDM. I'm not sure why this is the case, unless the new KDE Login Manager isn't ready (even for the unstable release). If I had to guess, you'll find the new login manager in the Developer edition of KDE Neon.

KDE Plasma 6.6 also allows you to customize SDDM, and once you've made any changes to your KDE Plasma desktop theme, you can then apply them to the login screen. To apply those changes, go to Colors & Themes > Login Screen (SDDM).

Even without the new login manager present, it's still impressive.

I decided to enable a few desktop effects (please bring Wobbly Windows back), such as Dim Inactive and Slide Back, and found them equally smooth. I took this a bit further and slowed the animation speed down, and found them to be just as silky.

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Another thing I noticed was that apps open very quickly. Although Neon Unstable doesn't ship with LibreOffice, I installed it to see how quickly it would open. Color me not surprised when it opened as quickly as any app on the OS.

Overall impression

Honestly, unless you've been paying close attention to KDE Plasma, you might not see all the subtleties that go into making this release special. To that end, one could easily conclude that 6.6 is really more about polish than anything else.

That's probably true, but this polish is especially shiny.

There's another somewhat hidden feature that I really appreciate. KDE Plasma allows you to change the default "start menu." You can select from Application Dashboard, Application Launcher, or Application Menu. I've always been a fan of the Application Dashboard, but didn't like the fact that it never honored the lighter themes I preferred. Well, now you can disable dark mode for this launcher, and I'm all for it.

Thank you, developers, for that addition.

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All-in-all, KDE Plasma 6.6 is probably the best iteration of the desktop that has ever been released, and given how amazing this desktop has become over the years, that's saying something.

When Plasma 6.6 is released, I highly recommend making the upgrade. Until then, your best bet is to spin up a virtual machine of KDE Neon Unstable and give it a whirl. Just remember, this is an unstable release, so there will be problems. In other words, do not use this as your default OS. If you like KDE Neon, stick with the stable release. You can download KDE Neon Unstable from the official site.

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