The Raspberry Pi project has released a new version of the Raspberry Pi OS distribution 2026-10-06 (Raspbian) and announced the formation of a Live build (2.6 GB), intended for installation on computers with x86_64 architecture processors. Like the builds for Raspberry Pi ARM platforms, this new version is based on Debian 13 package base. In addition to USB booting, the PC version includes the Calamares installer, allowing the system to be installed on a stationary hard drive or SSD.
The PC build includes the Raspberry Pi Connect service, designed for remote desktop access to the Raspberry Pi OS distribution via a web browser. The desktop environment is based on the composited server labwc, using the wlroots library from the Sway project.
Changes in the new version of Raspberry Pi OS include the delivery of higher quality icons for the menu, the appearance of tooltips explaining the purpose of widgets and the Control Centre configurator, support for automounting encrypted disks, and the addition of widgets to the panel for displaying battery charge and invoking the on-screen keyboard squeekboard.
There is also a general modernization of the desktop environment's design and the addition of a new dock panel alongside the classic task panel. Instead of the old program menu, two widgets are offered for launching applications — a full-screen interface for navigating through available programs with a search function and an embedded panel widget combining a list of open windows and a quick launch area for applications.
The new dock panel can be placed simultaneously with the old task panel; for example, the old panel can be pinned at the top of the window to display status indicators, while the new dock panel is placed at the bottom to show the list of windows and the application launch interface. The composition and placement of panels is customizable in the configurator.
Source: opennet.ru
