KaOS Linux 2025.01 has been released, featuring the Linux kernel 6.12 LTS and KDE Plasma 6.2.

KaOS Linux 2025.01 was released today as the latest ISO snapshot of this independent Linux distribution, built on the latest KDE software and featuring the Arch Linux pacman package manager.

KaOS Linux 2025.01, which includes the Linux 6.12 LTS kernel series, comes with the latest KDE Plasma 6.2.5 desktop environment, along with KDE Gear 24.12.1 and KDE Frameworks 6.10 software suite. All these are built using the open-source application framework Qt 6.8.1.

In the new KaOS release, a new application called Zen Browser has been introduced to the repository. Zen Browser is a Firefox-based web browser equipped with many modern and innovative features. Developers have also reported an increase in applications compatible with Qt6 and KDE Frameworks 6, including Krusader, KStars, KMyMoney, Mixxx, Photoflare, Skrooge, and Liquidshell.

Internally, the release includes updated core components such as Mesa 24.3.4, systemd 253.30, fwupd 2.0.4, SQLite 3.48.0, Rsync 3.4.1, Dbus 1.16.0, LLVM/Clang 19.1.7, OpenZFS 2.3, Poppler 25.01.0, GStreamer 1.24.11, Tzdata 2025a, OpenSSL 3.4, Protobuf 29.3, and FFmpeg 7.1.

For more detailed information, please visit the release announcement page. Before that, you can download KaOS Linux 2025.01 from the official website to try it on your computer or update an existing installation if you are already using KaOS Linux.

Existing KaOS Linux users do not need to download the new ISO image. Instead, run the `sudo pacman -Syu` command in a terminal emulator to update the installation. KaOS adopts a rolling release model to always receive updates.