The Fedora Project has just announced the availability of Fedora 40 which comes in many editions including Workstation, Server, IoT, Cloud, CoreOS, Atomic Desktops, Fedora Spins, and Fedora Labs. As most people will probably opt for the Workstation edition designed for desktops, we’ll focus on what’s new in that.
The main change that’s present in this update is the inclusion of GNOME 46. It includes improvements to the Files app, improves accessibility, and the Settings app and other core apps have been refined for better usability.
Some other GNOME improvements highlighted by Fedora Magazine include:
- Grouping of notifications by app. Now, each notification has a header. It shows the app’s name and icon. This makes it possible to see which app sent an alert. Notification now also has an expand button.
- You can now open a new window for apps pinned to the dash by adding the Ctrl modifier. For example: Super+Ctrl+1 opens a new window for the first app in the dash, complementing the existing shortcut of Super+ that launches the app itself.
- By default, Tap to Click is now enabled for touchpad.
- GNOME 46 now features Remote Login option. You can remotely connect using RDP to a new dedicated desktop session when there isn’t an active session.
One of the improvements to look out for in the Files update is the new global search feature which lets you search files across all configured locations. It even lets you search the contents of files, filter files by type and modification data, and search multiple locations at once.
The Files app has also been improved so that switching between list and grid views in Files now happens quickly, compared to the lag noticed in older versions.
Aside from GNOME 46, Fedora Workstation 40 includes performance improvements. There is reduced memory usage in search, terminal apps are significantly faster, app interfaces are more appealing, and there is experimental support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for smoother video performance.
The VRR support has to be enabled with the following command: gsettings set org.gnome.mutter experimental-features “[‘variable-refresh-rate’]”
Finally, there is a branding change with the Atomic desktops. In the past, Fedora referred to Silverblue, Kinoite, Sericea, and Onyx as immutable. Earlier this year, the Fedora Project decided to stop calling them immutable and described them as atomic instead. Fedora Sericea and Fedora Onyx are now known as Fedora Sway Atomic and Fedora Budgie Atomic, respectively.
Fedora Silverblue, the GNOME-based atomic option should be similar to Workstation but may offer more security features than Workstation but is admittedly a bit more limited. You can read Neowin’s editorial about why you should pick Fedora Silverblue 40 over Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
To learn more about the new update and download the ISOs, visit the Fedora website. If you have Fedora installed, keep an eye on Software for the upgrade being made available.