Gnome 49, the โlatest โiteration ofโ the popular desktop environment, brings a visual refresh โฃto โขcore โขapplications and officially sunsets X11 session support, transitioning users to Wayland by default. The update introduces redesigned interfaces for apps like Files โ(Nautilus) and โsettings, alongside usability enhancements acrossโ the โฃboard.
The move toโฃ Wayland aims โto improve performance, security,โข and modern hardware โsupport. While X11 has been a mainstay of โLinuxโค desktops for decades, it’s increasingly showing its age.โค Gnome 49’s defaultโ toโ Wayland impacts all users upgrading to the new โversion, though options forโฃ reverting to X11 may exist dependingโฃ on the distribution. Smaller changes include media controls added to the lock screen and a more accessibleโฃ operating aids menu. Users can also now initiate โsystem โshutdownโ or restart directly from the lockโข screen โขafter enabling โขthe feature via the command gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver restart-enabled true. Those โeager to preview Gnome 49 โcan โคexplore Gnome โOS, โขthough it’s notโค generally โrecommended for production environments.