In a blog post earlier today, Daniella Fore (Founder & CEO) announced the elementary OS 7 release details and its expected features.
This article is outdated. elementary OS 7 was released on Jan 31, 2023. You can read this article for feature highlights: Top Features of elementary OS 7.
elementary OS 7 Announcement
The elementary OS 7 code name is “Horus“, and it will be based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. The development is near the finishing line of this release while the team is fixing some critical regression test problems dealing with the window manager and other areas.
Firstly, features wise, elementary OS 7 gets the latest packages and upgrades from Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. In addition, the Flatpak runtime updates, Granite 7, stylesheet and icon updates are expected in version 7 of this release. The Linux Kernel should be Kernel 5.15.x.
Secondly, the App Store applications should get the automatic application update feature and new power profile options for laptops. The power profile is expected to follow the traditional “Balanced”, “Performance”, and “Power Saver” options like other Linux distros out there.
Moreover, a new sleek Music application is ready to debut in this release with a few redesigned icons and visual uplift across the desktop. The native App Store applications that have already migrated to Gtk4 tech should give a smooth performant experience to the users while using elementary OS 7.
A New Upgrade tool
But that’s not all. The team is also excited to announce that a working prototype for the elementary version upgrade tool is ready and being tested at the moment. So, post the eOS 7 release, it should debut officially to enable eOS 6 to 7 migration.
The elementary version upgrades are the biggest challenges today without any official upgrade path. And it is exciting news and attracts more users to this beautiful Linux distribution.
However, the Wayland migration is still on the cards and has not been prioritised yet. It would be an exciting experience with the elementary OS when Wayland support is fully developed.
Release Date?
Perhaps the most frequently asked question of any elementary OS release is the release date. Well, the release date is not final yet. The elementary OS 7 “Horus” will be released when ready. My optimistic guess is by the end of this year, after the first point release of Ubuntu 22.04 (due in July 2022).
Finally, read the official elementary OS 7 announcement for more about this release and many updates on elementary OS 6 “Odin” (point release 6.1).
