Plasma 6.8 drops X11in favor of Wayland - TUXEDO Computers

On October 14, KDE’s 30th birthday, Plasma 6.8, the next version of the popular desktop environment, will be released. Alongside improvements to screen recording, remote desktop functionality, and accessibility, as well as numerous optimizations under the hood, the release marks a fundamental change: With Plasma 6.8, KDE is discontinuing support for a standalone X11 session and will rely entirely on Wayland going forward. This decision may also be relevant to you as a TUXEDO customer, as the first stable release of the new TUXEDO OS „Continuous Debian“ will ship with Plasma 6.8.x.

Plasma 6.8 brings numerous improvements

Apart from the transition to Wayland, the KDE developers have integrated many new features into Plasma 6.8. For example, the screenshot utility Spectacle will now be able to record audio from the microphone, system output, or both sources simultaneously, in addition to video. Improvements to the integrated RDP server make remote administration easier. These include a bidirectional clipboard and automatic adjustment of streaming quality to the available bandwidth.

In terms of accessibility, KDE introduces Dwell Click, a feature that automatically triggers a mouse click when the pointer remains in the same position for a specified period of time. Multi-monitor configuration has also been improved. The System Monitor gains additional options for monitoring and managing processes. Kup, an application for scheduling backups, has been ported to Qt6 and KF6 and reintegrated into System Settings. It uses bup, a Git-inspired backup system, as its backend.

The new Union design system has also been further developed and can now be tested through System Settings for the first time. The still experimental technology can now provide a consistent appearance not only for QtQuick applications but also for traditional QtWidgets applications such as Dolphin and Kate. However, Union is not yet suitable for everyday use.

Why KDE is leaving X11 behind

KDE announced its decision to discontinue the native X11 session back in November 2025. With Plasma 6.8, this decision is now being implemented. Plasma 6.7 is therefore the last version in which users can choose between an X11 and a Wayland session when logging in.

KDE justifies this step with the maturity that Wayland has now achieved. The modern display server architecture is already the default in most Linux distributions and offers advantages in areas such as security, support for modern graphics features, and display handling on monitors with different scaling factors. Focusing on Wayland also allows KDE developers to consolidate development and testing resources instead of continuing to support two different display server architectures.

However, the removal of the X11 session does not mean that older X11 applications will no longer work under Plasma 6.8. XWayland continues to provide compatibility, allowing these applications to run within a Wayland session. Differences may arise, however, with applications that access X11 server functionality directly. This includes certain tools for remote control, screen recording, and automation.

What does this mean for TUXEDO OS?

For TUXEDO OS, the transition to Wayland coincides with another fundamental change. As you probably already know, we are switching the foundation of our operating system from Ubuntu to Debian. The new version, which we are developing under the name TUXEDO OS „Continuous Debian“, will use Plasma 6.8.x in its first stable release and will therefore no longer offer a native Plasma X11 session.

For most users, this will make little difference in everyday use, as Wayland has already been the default Plasma session in TUXEDO OS for quite some time. However, anyone who has deliberately continued using X11, whether because of particular applications, specialized hardware, or individual workflows, should consider the implications early on.

In such cases, we recommend first testing the required programs and features under Wayland with TUXEDO OS Legacy. The open beta for TUXEDO OS “Continuous Debian” will offer Plasma 6.8 in a few days, allowing you to test the latest improvements it brings to Wayland. Adjustments may be necessary, particularly for older applications, specialized input devices, or scripts that rely on X11 tools.

What alternatives are available for X11 users?

If you still depend on a native X11 session, you do not have to give up TUXEDO OS. Other desktop environments are available as alternatives. One well-established alternative is Xfce. This lightweight desktop environment has traditionally relied on X11 and provides a classic user interface with a panel, application menu, and window manager. Although the Xfce project is also working on Wayland support, X11 remains available. LXQt is another option. This lightweight, Qt-based desktop environment offers a familiar workflow and uses a separately selectable window manager for window management. It can also continue to run under X11.

SonicDE aims to preserve KDE under X11

The relatively new SonicDE project is particularly interesting for users who want to retain the familiar KDE interface. It is a fork of KDE components that aims to preserve and further develop their X11 support. SonicDE also intends to leave users free to choose their init system, whereas KDE has recently become somewhat more closely tied to systemd with the introduction of the new Plasma Login Manager.

The project’s roots go back to a collection of improvements for the KWin X11 window manager in 2025. This initially evolved into a project called KDE-Lite, which was renamed SonicDE at the end of 2025. However, SonicDE is still at an early stage of development. The developers are currently working on forking additional required KDE components and removing Wayland code that is no longer needed. Work is also underway on a Vulkan backend. Initial packages are already available for testing on various distributions.

This makes SonicDE an interesting prospect for users who want to continue using a KDE-like desktop environment under X11 in the long term. However, the project cannot yet be recommended as a mature and fully supported replacement for KDE Plasma. Users of production systems in particular should wait for further development.

Wayland is the future of TUXEDO OS

With Plasma 6.8, KDE is taking a step that has been in preparation for a long time. For the vast majority of users, the transition will be barely noticeable. At the same time, we recognize that there are still use cases where X11 is required or has so far proven more reliable.

With TUXEDO OS „Continuous Debian“, we are following the continued development of KDE Plasma and therefore adopting Wayland as the foundation of our desktop environment going forward. Users who still require a native X11 session for technical reasons can turn to established alternatives such as Xfce and LXQt. SonicDE may become another option in the future, particularly for those who want to retain the familiar KDE desktop experience.