Hello, Plasma fans! The Plasma 6.6 update is arriving soon, and it brings many long-awaited features and important fixes. KDE Developers worked hard to make your desktop smarter and much faster.

Here is a look at the best new features you can expect in Plasma 6.6.0!

Table of Contents

• Better Virtual Desktops

• Performance Improvements

• Smarter System Tools and Connectivity

• QR Codes Make Wi-Fi Easy

• Better Error Reporting

• Beautiful UI Refinements and Polish

Better Virtual Desktops

For a long time, many users have wanted one specific change to virtual desktops. Finally, Plasma 6.6 delivers it, thanks to Kristen McWilliam!

Now, you can limit virtual desktops to only the primary screen.

Meaning - If you have windows open on your secondary screens, they will always stay visible. They will not disappear when you switch virtual desktops on your main screen. This makes managing your workspace much easier.

Performance Improvements

You will notice big improvements in how Plasma runs, especially if you love performance.

• Massive Memory Reduction: Plasma now uses over 100 MiB less memory! Developers achieved this huge saving by getting smarter about unloading wallpaper images the system does not need anymore.
• Tiled Wallpapers Return: The memory saving change initially made tiled wallpapers impossible. However, Plasma 6.6.0 adds a brand-new “Tiled” wallpaper plugin so you can still use your favorite tiled background images.
• Smoother Drag-and-Drop: Furthermore, drag-and-drop operations are much more reliable now. This is especially true when you move items between windows that use XWayland and those that use native Wayland.
• No More Freezes: Toggling Bluetooth used to briefly freeze the UI you used for the action. Now, that brief freeze is gone.

Smarter System Tools and Connectivity

Plasma 6.6 also includes great improvements for connecting to the world and diagnosing problems.

QR Codes Make Wi-Fi Easy

Connecting to a new network is now simple!

The Networks widget features a new small button. You can click this button to connect to a network using a QR code.

Connect to a WiFi Network using QR Code in Plasma 6.6

The Qrca helper app handles this process. If you do not have Qrca, the system will offer to install it for you. Qrca is a helpful QR code scanner for Plasma Mobile.

Better Error Reporting

When things go wrong, Plasma helps you find the answer faster:

• Inline Remote Desktop Errors: If your remote desktop is not working, you do not have to dig through logs anymore. System Settings’ Remote Desktop page now shows any errors right in the window.
• DrKonqi Sees Everything: The DrKonqi crash reporting system is much smarter now. It now notices when non-KDE applications crash, too. When this happens, DrKonqi prompts you to send the report to that app’s developer or your distribution.

Beautiful UI Refinements and Polish

The look and feel of Plasma continues to get better in this release.

• Accurate Colors Every Time: The color picker now works more precisely. Picked colors reflect the raw RGB values. Therefore, effects like Night Light or an active ICC profile will not tint the color you select.
• Better GTK App Integration: Breeze-themed GTK applications look much cleaner. They now have extra padding on the toolbars. This padding stops items at the edges from touching the sides of the window. Also, some previous “ugly black lines” now look much nicer and have the correct color.
• Universal Hot Corners: Hot-corner effects now trigger for all of your screens. This is a great change for multi-monitor users! If you prefer the old way, you can easily disable this feature.
• HDR Setup Gets Help: Finally, the HDR calibration wizard added a new page. This page helps the system determine the maximum fullscreen average luminance.

Plasma 6.6 brings powerful features like the primary-screen-only virtual desktops and major speed improvements. This update promises a much smoother and more robust desktop experience for everyone!

For more details, check out the “This week in KDE” blog post published by Nate Graham on November 8, 2025.