Gregory's ServerWe took the opportunity a few years ago to run a survey and get better insights into the way you multitask on elementary OS and other operating systems. We then combined those insights with the feedback we’ve received in GitHub over the years and carefully reconsidered the role of the Dock in our desktop. This has resulted in a new Dock that retains the features you love from OS 7 and before and introduces whole new features to improve your multitasking workflow
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 System Settings has been refreshed with a modern space-saving dual-pane design that is more responsive for small and large displays. We’ve also vastly improved support for text scaling, screen readers, keyboard navigation, right-to-left language layouts, and improved contrast in illustrations. Plus search now returns more relevant results and the titles of those results now reflect both the exact setting name they’re matching and the path to that setting. OS 8 also brings a new Quick Settings menu that improves access to features while reducing clutter in the panel. We’ve started by combining the accessibility and session menus which contain useful controls, but don’t indicate a change in status. We’ve also added hotly requested controls like Dark Mode and Rotation Lock. Pointers were completely redrawn in OS 8 to be more consistent, make better use of color, and be more precise. The new design is more fun and playful with softer edges and rounder corners while maintaining high contrast and legibility. The new design feels extremely familiar but also more modern. Instead of a plain dark gray background, Multitasking View now features a blurred version of your wallpaper that is adjusted for light and dark modes. Workspace cards now have rounded corners and the switcher at the bottom of the screen has been updated for light and dark modes as well. OS 8 includes the latest long-term support Hardware Enablement stack from @ubuntu, including #Linux 6.8. We’re also shipping with Pipewire which improves latency and bluetooth audio quality while being architected for the world of sandboxed Flatpak apps running in the Secure Session. This is an especially big deal for folks doing audio production tasks on elementary OS. Thanks @ubuntu 😘 Driver management has moved from AppCenter to System Settings → System. The new design for drivers is more in line with how drivers are managed on other operating systems and is easier to work with, especially for hardware that has multiple driver options like NVIDIA graphics. Power settings now shows the charging level and status for both internal batteries and connected battery devices like mice and keyboards. You can also choose to automatically set different power profiles based on whether your device is plugged in or on battery power, and power modes can be quickly changed from the power menu in the panel. Plus the battery icon in the panel will now show much more accurate battery levels for mobile computers. I want to give special thanks to all of our volunteer contributors for working hard over the last 13 months to make this an incredible release. I’m also eternally grateful to our individual Early Access sponsors for providing consistent funding to keep producing our operating system and distributing it under our pay-what-you-can model. If you’d like to help build and improve elementary OS, don’t hesitate to Get Involved. https://elementary.io/get-involved  OS 8 is available to download now for a pay-what-you-can price on our website! https://elementary.io @elementary congratulations on the new release! Looks like some really cool stuff! @elementary I’ve tried purchasing through a few browsers but always end up on a blank page after pressing the purchase button. I’ll try again tomorrow! @cjgyt can confirm! Thanks for letting us know. We’re looking it right now 👀  @elementary @jannem we have some experimental ARM images available at https://builds.elementary.io but nothing were ready to distribute publicly yet @elementary "more precise" "rounded edges" These two things do not go together. @elementary@mastodon.social @KelvinShadewing@mastodon.social If they didn't round the pointing end it would've been fine |
Keyboard navigation and screen reader support during Installation, Initial Setup, and Onboarding has been rewritten and the entire first run experience has been much improved for blind folks in OS 8. We also now have screen reader support in the Alt + Tab window switcher and we’ve made sure that there’s audio feedback when we’re unable to complete window management tasks