14 DAY TRIAL // The KDE developers are already considering what they need to do to improve the Plasma desktop after the 5.4.2 launch, and they've shared some of the features that are going to be made available.
KDE Plasma 5.4.2 might not have an impressive version, but it was a great release. Developers have added a ton of new icons for the Breeze theme, and they've integrated a number of fixes. It's also natural for the KDE community to think about what's coming, and now they have an answer.
One of the KDE developers explains some of the features that will be implemented in the upcoming 5.5 branch of the Plasma desktop, and you can rest assured that these represent just a small part of what's coming. It's already enough to get anyone excited, and we can hardly wait to see what other stuff is being planned.
KDE Plasma 5.5 is improving users switching
"With Plasma 5.4.2 out the door, it’s time to look ahead at what Plasma 5.5 will bring to a Desktop near you. Even though we’ve gone mobile, we won’t neglect traditional Desktops. In the upcoming release, I took care of the little things, as well as bringing back specialized tools that haven’t been a priority for the initial releases" said developer Kai Uwe.
According to Kai, switching between users is no longer handled by KRunner and it will be handled by the lock screen, a new Color Picker plasmoid is being introduced, the Solid Device Auto Mounter is making a comeback, Pager is getting drop event support, and the context menu for the windows in the task bar is also now aligned with the entry clicked.
These are just a few of the improvements being made to KDE Plasma 5.5, which is expected to land on December 8, 2015. Until then, we might still get a maintenance release, KDE Plasma 5.4.3, but that's not sure.