The GNOME Project has launched the beta version of the upcoming GNOME 50 desktop environment, showcasing numerous enhancements and new features across various GNOME apps and components.
Significant improvements in GNOME 50 beta include better detection of discrete GPUs by GNOME Shell, enhanced support for external keyboard layouts, improved screen time tracking with idle inhibitors, and refined tab focus behavior in the Quick Settings menu.
The release also updates the Mutter window manager, introducing HiDPI and monitor mode emulation for screencasts, initial stable implementations of Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and fractional scaling, improved frame scheduling, and support for remote desktops to set active keyboard layouts.
In the GNOME Control Center, a new text-size setting with a slider has been added in the Accessibility section, along with a "First day of week" option in the Date & Time settings. Improvements in battery management and keyboard mapping for single-user systems have also been made.
The Epiphany web browser saw enhancements, including a feature to delete service worker data from the Clear Data dialog, new options for accessing site permissions, and support for dark theme preferences on the homepage.
Other changes include the reintroduction of a timeout in the GDM (GNOME Display Manager) for GPU detection, which now supports a “unified” authentication mechanism that allows multiple authentication methods to run in a single PAM conversation.
GNOME Remote Desktop gained features such as camera redirection, connection throttling, HiDPI support, and Kerberos authentication compatibility for single-user runtimes. Preparations for Vulkan Video Encode support have been made, with VA-API now disabled for AMD GPUs.
The Orca screen reader received a new preferences window, global settings support, automatic language switching, and enhancements for working with Electron apps.
Additional improvements touched other applications as well: Loupe image viewer now supports XPM and JPEG 2000 formats; GNOME Sudoku can save, export, and share shortcuts; and GNOME Software now displays progress for add-ons.
For a full overview of the changes in this beta iteration, check out the release announcement page. The stable version of GNOME 50 is anticipated to launch on March 18th, 2026, with a Release Candidate due for public testing in early March.
You can begin testing the GNOME 50 beta milestone by downloading the GNOME OS installation image from the release announcement page. Remember that this is a pre-release version and might contain unfinished features or bugs.
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