Here, in this post, we round up the known new features of the elementary OS 6 code-named Odin.
This page may contain out-dated information. Please read the final release coverage of elementary OS 6 here.
In a recent blog post, the elementary co-founder gave us hints on what’s upcoming in this Windows and MacOS alternative Linux distribution – elementary OS. While elementary provides monthly updates for its current versions, the major release is indeed huge in terms of features, additions, and customizations.
The current stable release of elementary OS 5.1 Hera is based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and will be receiving security updates until April 2028. However, a lot is in store as per the update for elementary OS 6.
Table of Contents
elementary OS 6 – New Features
- The elementary OS 6 will be based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS which is released a while back. So it will include Linux Kernel 5.8.x.
- The most important aspect of elementary OS is its look and feel which mimics MacOS in someway. And some of the users migrate to elementary due to its look. In the upcoming elementary OS 6, expect a refreshed and revamped look and feel across desktop items. The system stylesheet, typography, and contrast are being tweaked to make it a more professional looking desktop for you.
- Terminal and System settings dialogs might see nice rounded corners at the bottom.
- The base system components will have dark style as well such as Dock, Panel indicators, system dialogs.
- The default accent color can be changed via a list of available colors – Strawberry, Orange, Banana, Lime, Mint, Grape, and Bubblegum. However, an app can still override the system accent color if needed.
- The main communication and email app Mail might see a major rework. This will help you to sync calendars, tasks, emails in apps with different account providers. The actual nature of this update is not yet clear though.
- For example, it is still not clear whether you will be able to sync Office 365 Outlook items, Gmail items on the fly in Evolution without any hassles.
- Along with it, a new Task app coming up to handle local tasks as well as any task lists synced with the Evolution data server.
- If you are using the elementary OS in touch devices then good news for you. The Multi-touch support sees more rework using the libhandy library.
- The startup screen of elementary OS 6 is going to change. It is the screen which you see when you first turn on the computer. In another word, the splash screen. So, in this release, the splash screen can show the manufacturer branding logo (e.g. Lenovo) and also shows the firmware upgrade process (if available and supported in the device).
- The installer sees changes such as a detailed option to choose the disk where to install the OS, select language, keyboard. It also includes an option to reboot or shut down the installation and resumes later (I am not sure if this is a good idea). Anyway.
- In the settings, the system section is tabbed now with ‘Operating System’, ‘Hardware’, and ‘Firmware’ tabs. Each tab has a branding logo when available with a very nice and clear look with additional information.
- Keyboard settings include two additional options to show Num Lock and Caps Lock in the top Panel. This is useful for those keyboards which don’t include hardware Num or Caps Lock indicators.
This is so far we know about the changes in the upcoming elementary OS 6. elementary team always wants to keep things under the wrap until the final release day.
Screenshots of some features
Notification in elementary OS 6 Beta 
New Appearance window settings with Dark Mode 
New installer elementary OS 6 Beta Desktop
elementary OS 6 – Beta
The elementary team announced the release of the elementary OS 6 Beta. It is now available for general users to download. Head over to the below links to download your copy.
Magnet Download via Torrent Client
After download, you can write it to any USB via any tool such as Etcher; Or try it on a virtual machine.
Remember, this is a beta copy. So, do not try it as a production version. The development is complete yet, and many features are still being worked on by the team. Also, if you run this Beta version, you will not be able to upgrade to the stable when it releases officially.
Also, if you find any issues, report it using the built-in feedback tool.
Release Dates
elementary OS 6 released date not yet announced, so stay tuned for more updates as its available. However, considering the past history, we can assume that elementary OS 6 releases between June 2021 and August 2021. This is the most optimistic guess at the moment.
Links
- Development @ GitHub
