Madrid. The GNOME Project has announced the availability of the Release Candidate (RC) for GNOME 49, the next major version of its desktop environment, which is set for official release on September 17, 2025.
This RC comes with several notable updates, including a reversal on one of the more controversial decisions from the alpha: X11 support is once again enabled by default in GNOME Display Manager (GDM).
X11 support returns (for now)
In the alpha stage, GDM’s X11 integration had been disabled by default, marking another step toward GNOME’s eventual Wayland-first vision. However, developers admitted that separating GDM’s ability to launch modern X11 sessions from its broader X11 integration proved more complex than expected.
“We still plan to remove GDM’s full X11 integration in a future version, and leave only the ability to launch modern X11 sessions,” explained the GNOME team.
This means that while legacy X11 support is still on track to be deprecated, users of GNOME 49 will have a smoother transition period, especially in environments where X11 sessions remain critical for compatibility.
Improvements across the desktop
Beyond session management, GNOME 49 RC introduces refinements across core apps and components:
- Lock screen & notifications: improved styling for media controls.
- Mutter (window/compositor manager):
- Support for ICtCp Tone Mapping and ICC profiles.
- Extended sRGB blending enabled by default.
- Enhanced YCbCr format support.
- Updated initial Wayland window configuration.
- Fractional scaling improvements.
- D-Bus API support for color calibration.
- VRR-aware cursor movement at maximum refresh rates.
- Networking: improved WPA(2) Enterprise connectivity in GNOME Shell.
- Legacy tray icons: better support preserved for older applications.
Application-level changes
Several GNOME applications also receive meaningful updates:
- GNOME Boxes: default virtual machine disk size raised from 20 GB to 30 GB.
- GNOME Calculator: better handling of very large numbers.
- GNOME Calendar: clearer month labels and improved views/popover previews.
- GNOME Connections: now supports SPICE protocol and a new Shortcuts window.
- GNOME Console: introduces full-screen mode.
- GNOME Control Center (Settings):
- Orca screen reader can now be configured here.
- Explicit color calibration API support added to the Color panel.
- GNOME Font Viewer:
Ctrl+Wshortcut for closing windows. - GNOME Software: rpm-ostree plugin shows past updates.
- Nautilus: incremental file sorting for MTP-backed directories.
Remote desktop & accessibility enhancements
- GNOME Remote Desktop:
- Relative pointer movement support.
- Virtual monitor extension over RDP.
- Systemd unit management through the
grdctlCLI tool.
- Orca Screen Reader:
- Added as a systemd user service.
- Improved handling of web sub/superscripts.
- Faster detection of “clickable” elements.
- Support for politeness levels in announcements.
- Broader structural navigation across apps.
What’s next
The RC is available for testing via downloadable ISO images, ideal for virtual machines or test setups. With the final release expected on September 17, 2025, GNOME 49 promises to be a refined, more accessible, and more secure step in the project’s ongoing evolution — balancing the push toward Wayland with short-term pragmatism for X11 users.
