The most popular Ubuntu derivative, Kubuntu, is known for its customization options and elegance. Kubuntu 23.10 “Mantic Minotaur” packs some exciting updates and enhancements to make your Kubuntu experience more stable.
Let’s take a look at the new features of this release.
Table of Contents
Kubuntu 23.10: Best New Features
Core modules and Kernel
Every Linux distribution’s backbone is its kernel, and Kubuntu 23.10 doesn’t disappoint. This release introduces the brand-new Kernel 6.5, a significant upgrade loaded with improvements. Kernel 6.5 brings extended hardware support, ensuring your components run seamlessly.
Additionally, you can expect enhanced system performance thanks to optimized code. Among the key highlights of Kernel 6.5 are WiFi 7 support, MIDI 2.0 compatibility, and a host of other features that you can explore further in our dedicated Kernel 6.5 guide.
KDE Plasma Desktop 5.27+
You will appreciate including the latest point release, KDE Plasma Desktop 5.27.8. While you may already be familiar with version 5.27 in Kubuntu 23.04, this update ensures that you continue to enjoy a refined and feature-rich desktop environment.
Notably, the KDE team is actively working on Plasma 6, but Plasma 5 will remain supported until 2024. Alongside Plasma, you’ll find KDE Framework 5.110 and Qt 5.15, enhancing your desktop experience. That said, you won’t get to experience Plasma 6 in this Kubuntu release since it is not ready yet. Hopefully, you will get it on 24.04 LTS.
If you compare the features of earlier Kubuntu 23.04 and with KDE Plasma 5.27.8, there are a large number of minor changes and huge list of bug fixes (in order of thousands) catering to the entire KDE Plasma desktop components.
Here are a few of them, including key KDE Applications.
Image viewer Gwenview now reads GIMP’s .xcf file format for easy handling.
In the application menu switcher widget, the “Leave” widget is now replaced with a Log Out button.
A new command, kinfo is now available to give you various KDE system information such as framework version, Qt version and so on. This new command lets you capture quick system information for bug reporting and different purposes.
There was a long-standing bug which caused the Plasma session to hang for suspend events when running on a Virtual machine. This irritating bug has been fixed for both X11 and Wayland.
A 23-year-old feature request is implemented in Dolphin Manager to hide the temp files of applications (such as files with ~ or # at the end). This is hidden by default now and can be enabled from settings.
Okular gets a few improvements on the Digital Signature feature. The main hamburger menu now shows the “Digitally Sign” option for quick access. Another improvement brings “reason”, “location”, and background options metadata entry for certificates.
Updated Toolchain and Applications
This release also brings a range of updated tools and applications to keep your Linux system at its best.
The key non-KDE apps get their latest versions, such as Thunderbird and Firefox. The Thunderbird 115 “Supernova” release is now available, bringing UI refresh. In addition, the latest Firefox 117 snap version is pre-installed.
Alongside this, the following core components make up the Kubuntu 23.10 release.
- Python 3.11.5
- PHP 8.2
- GCC 13.2
- GlibC 2.38
- Ruby 3.2
- Golang 1.2
Installer updates
The underlying Ubuntu 23.10 features the experimental ZFS installation options as part of the new installer. However, KDE Plasma uses a separate installer, and the options are not available as part of the Kubuntu release (as per my investigation).
The ISO size is around 700 MB less at 2.7 GB compared to the prior Kubuntu 23.04 release, which is impressive.
Wrapping up
With these updates, Kubuntu 23.10 ensures that you have access to the latest tools and KDE applications, making it easier than ever to tailor your Linux system to your needs. You may not see much visual difference from the last stable release of Kubuntu, but ensure that it is the best and most stable Plasma experience.
If you are running Kubuntu LTS or earlier short-term versions, you may opt-out from upgrading to this version until 2024.
You can download this version from this page.
