The first maintenance release of the GNOME 48 “Bengaluru” desktop environment improves accessibility, stability, and the user experience across key components.
The GNOME Project has officially released GNOME 48.1, marking the first point update for its latest desktop environment series, GNOME 48 “Bengaluru”. This release focuses on bug fixes, refined HDR support, improved accessibility, and enhanced functionality across Mutter, GNOME Shell, Nautilus, and other core apps.
Mutter 48.2: Stability, Tablet Support, and Smarter HDR Behavior
The Mutter window and compositing manager has been updated to version 48.2 with significant improvements, including:
- Fixes for screen freezes and broken cursor animations.
- Correct cursor sizing for tablet tools using the Cursor Shape protocol.
- Immediate cursor updates when changing themes or sizes.
- Better drag-and-drop cursor feedback handling.
Accessibility improvements include Mutter now notifying screen readers of workspace changes, while HDR support has been refined. HDR is now disabled for legacy non-atomic KMS drivers, and the compositor can automatically fallback to standard color mode if an HDR-capable display loses that capability.
GNOME Shell Fixes UI Glitches and Enhances Login Flow
GNOME Shell received multiple visual and functional fixes in this update:
- Slider glitches and issues with suspend/resume detection for time tracking apps were fixed.
- Incorrect image scaling when using fractional scaling is now resolved.
- Frozen cursors when using the magnifier in “push” mode have been addressed.
- Fixes were made to the session button behavior on the login screen after entering an incorrect password.
These changes aim to polish user experience and improve visual consistency across different hardware configurations.
Nautilus, Calculator and Other App Updates
The Nautilus (Files) file manager has been updated with bug fixes targeting:
- Switching between tree and grid views.
- Opening new windows for starred folders.
- Selecting Google Drive files using the file chooser.
- Preventing duplicate bookmarks.
- Properly running script files from their original locations.
Meanwhile, the GNOME Calculator app improves:
- Handling of currency exchange rates.
- RTL (right-to-left) language support for converter alignment.
- Use of GNOME-hosted rates over third-party sources.
- Visibility of the converter in “never refresh” mode.
Additional app updates include GNOME Calls now starting with the session, improved dark mode contrast in GNOME Software, and expander state saving in GNOME System Monitor.
GitLab Migration and Mandatory 2FA for GNOME Developers
On the infrastructure side, GNOME has successfully migrated GitLab to a new AWS-based platform. As part of this migration, two-factor authentication (2FA) is now mandatory for all GNOME accounts. Developers must sign in via GNOME’s new SSO (Single Sign-On) system and enroll in 2FA using an authenticator app.
Rolling Out to Distributions
GNOME 48.1 will soon be available in the stable repositories of major GNU/Linux distributions, including Fedora, Ubuntu, openSUSE, and Arch Linux. Users can expect to receive these updates either through their regular system updates or specific package upgrades.
This release underscores GNOME’s commitment to delivering a modern, secure, and polished Linux desktop experience, with active development focused on both usability and system resilience.
