The elementary OS development team has released the stable version of the elementary OS 8.1 distribution (based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS).
There are many new features such as multi-touch support and enhanced object synchronization, such as mail and calendar information.
Based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) supported by Linux kernel 6.14 brings a new Secure Session to ensure that apps respect your privacy and require your consent. It comes with a brand new dock with productive multitasking and window management features and features PipeWire as the default media server.
The Secure Session is now the default session in OS 8.1
Choose the classic default style or a new dark style and the system and default applications will follow.
elementary OS 8.1 also brings support for four new FreeDesktop.org portals, (Color Picker, Screenshot, Screencast, and Wallpaper) support for customizing runtime permissions for Flatpak apps in the Flatpak Permissions Store.
AppCenter, the default App store of elementary OS, has also been updated in this release with a new “Made for elementary OS” badge.
Read the announcement for more details about the changes elementary OS 8.1 (Circe) brings, which you can download as a live ISO image from the official website.
Unfortunately, elementary OS doesn't offer an automated way to upgrade between major versions, but you can keep your personal data while installing the new version.
More details can be found in the new version announcement.
Download the ISO from the official page
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
