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Alpha 2

1. BlossomUI Alpha 2

The look of BlossomOS takes a huge leap forward with this release. From the icon set to the window decorations, a lot has been reworked:

  • New folder and file manager icons: Reworked icon set for folders and the file manager.
  • More new icons: Numerous additional system and app icons have been added.
  • Custom Plasma theme: A completely redesigned Plasma theme that fits better with the rest of BlossomUI.
  • GTK3 theme: Matching GTK3 theme for a consistent look across GTK apps.
  • GTK4 theme: Companion theme for apps built on GTK4.
  • QtQuick theme: Dedicated styling for QtQuick-based interfaces.
  • Adwaita theme: New Adwaita theme for better integration of GNOME apps.
  • QQC2 / Kirigami theme: Consistent look & feel for Kirigami-based applications.
  • GTK window decoration: New window decoration for GTK applications in the BlossomUI style.
  • New system font: A new default font for a more modern typeface across the whole system.
  • New switches: Reworked toggle switches with clearer visual feedback.
  • Blur masks: Bleeding issues with blur masks have been fixed, making transparency effects look cleaner now.
  • New “Welcome” splash screen: A newly designed welcome screen on desktop startup.
  • Numerous design & installation fixes: Various smaller bug fixes around theming and its installation.

2. Blossom Patches Alpha

Alongside theming, this release also brings a number of functional patches meant to make everyday desktop use more pleasant:

  • New digital clock: Reworked clock display in the taskbar.
  • New start menu: Design fixes plus a new, spinning icon when opening the start menu.
  • Tidier taskbar: New tray icons are now automatically sorted into the overflow menu, keeping the taskbar tidier.
  • Notification badges in red: Notification badges now look as expected.
  • More precise battery icon: More accurate display of battery status in the panel.
  • Reset buttons for panels: New buttons that let you specifically reset the desktop panel configuration.
  • Automatic theming: Patches that automatically apply the matching BlossomUI design to Adwaita and Kirigami apps.
  • Design quick settings: Foundation for the new appearance quick settings (see item 4).

3. Improved default settings

Beyond theming and patches, BlossomOS’s factory settings have been reworked so the system feels tidier and more thought-through:

  • Pinned favorites in the start menu: A sensible preselection of apps visible right in the start menu.
  • Pinned apps on the taskbar: Important applications are pinned to the taskbar by default.
  • Fewer permanently visible tray icons: Reduced default applets in the system tray for a clearer overview.
  • New screen corner action: “Show Desktop” is now triggered via a screen corner instead of the large desktop icon.
  • Calmer app launch behavior: Launching apps no longer animate by jumping around next to the mouse cursor.

4. Design quick settings (Appearance)

A new quick-access panel makes it easier to customize the system’s appearance: colors, backgrounds, and other design options can now be set centrally in one clear place, without navigating through several menus in System Settings.

5. KDE Plasma 6.7

The latest iteration of the Plasma desktop environment brings massive optimizations for multitasking and everyday workflow:

  • Virtual desktops per monitor: Virtual desktops can finally be managed and switched independently on different screens.
  • Global push-to-talk & mic mute: A system-wide hotkey lets you globally mute your microphone or configure it as push-to-talk.
  • Instant light/dark mode: A dedicated toggle switch in the Plasma panel enables an instant switch between light and dark appearance.
  • Union Theme Engine (Tech Preview): Plasma 6.7 includes an early preview of the new, unified CSS-based styling system, which will provide a fully consistent design across all kinds of app interfaces in the long run.
  • Extended screen capture protection: Windows can now be specifically hidden from being captured by screenshots or screen recordings.

6. New version of Arc Store

BlossomOS’s own software store, “Arc Store,” has been thoroughly reworked:

  • Improved software providers: AppImages, DEBs, and RPMs should now be noticeably easier to install.
  • KIO support: Arc Store now supports KIO to display the current status of a transaction.
  • New homepage: The homepage has been redesigned and now supports Stories (curated articles about new apps from the BlossomOS team).
  • The new PWAs are here: You can now install and use the new PWAs on your system. PWAs are web links to the respective apps’ websites but behave like native software.
  • Improved web browser integration: Arc now supports integration with web browsers, so you can open app pages directly from the browser.
  • Flatpak extension support: Arc now supports installing Flatpak extensions, letting you extend your Flatpak apps with new features.
  • Improved update management: Arc now has improved update management that takes the Arc runtime into account, so already-updated apps run more stably. Apps can also be updated automatically.
  • Improved language support: Arc Store now supports multiple languages, currently German and English.

7. Custom kernel with hardware and performance patchsets

BlossomOS now uses a self-built kernel ( kernel-blossomos) based on the regular Fedora kernel, bringing curated patchsets for better hardware support and responsiveness:

  • fw16 patchset (Framework Laptop 16): Fixes WiFi dropouts on the MediaTek mt7925 chip caused by race conditions, NULL pointer dereferences, and mutex gaps when establishing and tearing down MLO links. It also adds PWM fan control via cros_ec_hwmon, enabling proper fan curve control through fw-fanctrl.
  • cachyos patchset (general performance): Includes the BORE-cachy scheduler, which tracks each task’s CPU burst time and applies a penalty to throughput-heavy tasks, keeping interactive tasks responsive even under load. It also adds cgroup VRAM accounting, which shows AMD dGPU VRAM usage per cgroup and enables memory-pressure-aware freeing.

8. Software update module for System Settings

System updates now have a graphical home: a new “Software Update” module (KCM) integrates directly into KDE System Settings and manages OS image updates via rpm-ostree, no terminal required:

  • Deployment overview: See the currently booted version as well as pending and previous deployments at a glance.
  • Background updates with live progress: Download an OS update in the background and track its progress live in the interface. The update is applied on the next restart.
  • One-click rollback: Switch straight back to the previous deployment from System Settings. Your files and settings remain unchanged.
  • Automatic updates: Enable or disable automatic updates with a single switch (implemented via the rpm-ostreed-automatic.timer systemd unit).
  • Layered package detection: If packages layered via rpm-ostree are blocking an update, the module detects this and offers to remove them for you.
  • Native look & feel: The module is built on Kirigami and integrates seamlessly into System Settings under System → Software Update.