Wayland
Ongoing coverage on Wayland.
Latest coverage
Proton-CachyOS update brings automatic HDR, Wayland improvements and more bug fixes
The community-developed compatibility layer Proton-CachyOS has released version 11.0-20260601, bringing automatic HDR detection and enablement, Wayland improvements, and various bug fixes for Windows games on Linux and SteamOS. This update is based on Valve's Proton Experimental and includes additional patches and features, such as automatic HDR detection and support for DLSS inputs for FSR4.
KDE Plasma waves goodbye to X11 for Plasma 6.8
KDE is officially removing X11 support from its Plasma desktop environment, with the change set to arrive in Plasma 6.8 around October 14th. This move will make Wayland the sole session login option for users, allowing the KDE team to focus development efforts on improving the Wayland experience. While most applications will continue to function via XWayland, this transition will primarily affect a small minority of users still relying on X11.
NVIDIA driver 610.43.02 arrives for Linux with Vulkan upgrades, DRM colour pipeline API support
NVIDIA has released driver version 610.43.02 for Linux, introducing new Vulkan extensions and support for the DRM color pipeline API. This update includes performance improvements for Starfield and fixes a regression in Doom: The Dark Ages. The driver also adds support for mmap on DMABUF file descriptors and FP16 EGL framebuffer configurations on Wayland.
NVIDIA 580.159.03 driver released for Linux with some essential fixes
NVIDIA has released version 580.159.03 of its graphics driver for Linux, which includes several essential fixes. This older driver branch is necessary for users with older NVIDIA GPUs, as the newer 595 series has dropped support for generations like Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta. Key improvements include better handling of low video memory to prevent Wayland freezes and fixes for various display and VRR issues.
NVIDIA 595.71.05 stable driver released for Linux
NVIDIA has released a new stable driver update for Linux, version 595.71.05. This update addresses a bug that could cause OpenGL applications to stop rendering after resuming from suspend when running on Wayland. This follows a larger stable update in March that introduced more bug fixes and features.
KDE Plasma 6.7 gets per-screen virtual desktops and Wayland session management
KDE Plasma 6.7 is set to release on June 16th, introducing significant new features including per-screen virtual desktops and support for the Wayland session management protocol. The update also brings improvements to the Discover software center and application menu widgets.
NVIDIA announce a preview of "DRM Per-Plane Color Pipeline API" support on Linux (good for HDR)
NVIDIA has announced a preview of its support for the DRM Per-Plane Color Pipeline API on Linux, designed to accelerate color processing, particularly for High Dynamic Range content. This API allows compositors to leverage GPU hardware capabilities directly. NVIDIA utilized AI tools, including Claude Sonnet/Opus, for much of the code generation during development.
NVIDIA Beta driver 595.45.04 released for Linux - looks to be an exciting one
NVIDIA has released Beta driver version 595.45.04 for Linux, introducing support for new Vulkan extensions like VK_EXT_descriptor_heap, which may improve performance for Windows games running via Proton. The update also includes various bug fixes and improvements for stability and compatibility with technologies like Wayland and X11.
Linux Mint Cinnamon has the new screensaver lock screen ready for Wayland
The Linux Mint team has detailed a new screensaver and lock screen system for the Cinnamon desktop environment, which is the final major component for full Wayland support. The new system is integrated directly into Cinnamon for a smoother experience and addresses privacy concerns regarding screen flashing. The next Linux Mint release will feature this new system, with the older screensaver being removed in the subsequent release. Additionally, the System Reports tool now includes a page for system sensors.
