KDE has announced Plasma 6.6, the latest update to its Linux desktop environment and one of the desktops used in the Steam Deck desktop mode. The most talked about change in this update is the addition of "Plasma Login Manager", which is regarded as a potential alternative to SDDM (Simple Desktop Display Manager) in Fedora Linux 44, CachyOS, EndeavorOS and other distributions. However, this component relies on systemd, so it is not suitable for distributions that do not use systemd.
At the functional level, the screenshot tool Spectacle gains OCR (text recognition) capabilities; a USB portal is also added, allowing sandbox applications to request access to USB devices from the system. For users using Linux kernel 6.19, the system also adds the option to adjust the "visual sharpness" of screen content and supports exporting the current Plasma configuration directly as a global theme. In terms of display and graphics stack, KWin has added XRandr simulation to improve XWayland application compatibility, and introduced color pipeline support by DRM plane and custom screen mode support in Wayland sessions; the screen casting (screen mirroring) experience has also been improved, and a new auxiliary function called "Slow Keys" has been added. ≈
The gaming and cybersecurity-related update also covers: Windows games running through Wine or Proton with HDR enabled receive a workaround to improve color accuracy. Wi‑Fi passwords can now be stored in a root-owned location for improved security, and a new QR code display is added to the network widget to facilitate quick device connection. In terms of mobile device experience, Plasma 6.6 improves notebook battery processing logic, adds support for ambient light sensors to achieve automatic brightness adjustment, and enhances support for color-blind users; in addition, specific windows can be selectively excluded from being recorded during screen recording.
In addition to the above highlights, Plasma 6.6 also brings a number of detailed improvements: support for virtual desktops to appear only on the home screen; an optional new login manager; optional automatic brightness on devices with ambient light sensors; optional support for gamepads as regular input devices; fonts can be installed through the Discover Software Center on supported operating systems; process priority can be selected for the system monitor; independent web browser and volume widgets can be fixed and always on; USB Access prompts and other permission prompt interfaces receive visual updates; animations on high refresh rate screens are smoother. KDE stated that Plasma 6.6 will be gradually pushed to users of KDE neon, Arch Linux, openSUSE Tumbleweed, Fedora Linux and other distributions in the next few weeks, and provided the complete change log of Plasma 6.6 for review:
https://kde.org/announcements/changelogs/plasma/6/6.5.5-6.6.0/