The release of the KDE Plasma Mobile 21.12 mobile platform has been published, based on the mobile edition of the Plasma 5 desktop, the KDE Frameworks 5 libraries, the ModemManager phone stack and the Telepathy communication framework. The kwin_wayland composite server is used to display graphics in Plasma Mobile, and PulseAudio is used for sound processing. Simultaneously, the release of the Plasma Mobile Gear 21.12 set of mobile applications, which is formed by analogy with the KDE Gear set, has been prepared. The application interface is created using Qt, a set of Mauikit components and the Kirigami framework from the KDE Frameworks, which allows you to create universal interfaces suitable for smartphones, tablets and PCs.
Includes apps such as KDE Connect to pair your phone with your desktop, Okular document viewer, VVave music player, Koko and Pix image viewers, buho note-taking system, calindori calendar planner, Index file manager, Discover app manager, sending SMS Spacebar, plasma-phonebook address book, plasma-dialer phone call interface, plasma-angelfish browser and Spectral messenger.
In the new version:
- Telephony-related functions such as making calls, transferring data via a cellular operator, and sending SMS have been transferred from the original oFono stack to ModemManager, which integrates with the NetworkManager network configurator, while oFono is tied to the ConnMan configurator. ConnMan continues to be used by the Ubuntu Touch and Sailfish projects, which maintain their own patch sets for it. NetworkManager has proven to be the preferred choice for KDE Plasma Mobile, as it is already used by KDE Plasma (as well as GNOME and Phosh). In addition, unlike oFono, the ModemManager project is actively developed and support for new devices is regularly transferred to it, while oFono depends on a series of external patches. ModemManager also has better and more stable support for modems used in Pinephone and OnePlus 6 devices. Previously, the migration was hindered by linking the Halium system environment used in KDE Plasma Mobile to oFono, but after the decision to stop Halium support in Plasma Mobile, this has ceased to be a deterrent.
- The Maliit virtual keyboard has been adjusted to invoke input-specific keyboard options, for example, in numeric fields, a keyboard option is shown for entering numbers. The behavior related to the conditions for showing the keyboard has also been improved (in which conditions to show and in which not).
- Fixed problems with connecting external screens to the phone, which led to the allocation of excess video memory in KWin and crashes on the Pinephone smartphone. A new button is attached to the thumbnails of running applications, with which you can move the application to an external screen. As part of the development cycle of the next release, the concept of primary output (Primary Output) has been implemented, which allows you to control which screen will provide the default output. On the practical side, this feature will allow you to create full-fledged working environments when you connect an external screen, keyboard and mouse, and also make it possible to use the classic KDE Plasma desktop on external screens.
- Redesigned implementation of the top panel quick setup interface. Now you can connect extensions and add your own settings, as well as call the clock widget when you click on the clock mark in the panel. Added a quick setting for switching to flight mode. The mobile network connection indicator has been redesigned to use ModemManager. The layout of the elements on the top panel is adapted for screens with a dead area for the camera.
- Implemented the ability to move the lower taskbar to the side to save vertical space in landscape mode.
- Integrated support for the xdg-activation protocol, which allows you to transfer focus between different surfaces of the first level. For example, with xdg-activation, one interface for launching applications can transfer focus to another interface, or one application can switch focus to another. With xdg-activation, better animations are implemented when launching applications, turning off the screen and rotating the image.
- The Kirigami framework, which allows you to create universal interfaces for mobile and desktop systems, has implemented the NavigationTabBar component, which allows you to place navigation elements in the bottom bar. The component is built on bottom navigation blocks used in the dialing interface and clock and has already been adapted for applications such as Elisa, Discover, Tokodon and Kasts.
- The weather app has reimplemented the implementation of dynamic visualizations and changed the behavior when switching locations. For example, the rain visualization on Pinephone can now be displayed at 30 frames per second instead of 5. The sidebar has been completely removed from the mobile version of the interface.
- The Koko Image Viewer offers a mobile version of the bottom navigation bar, making it easy to navigate from your phone. A new overview page has been added that includes all previously shown images and provides the ability to filter by location, date, and network directories. A new "Share" dialog has been proposed for sending images. In the built-in image editor, the resizing function has been added and the cropping operation has been improved. In addition, Koko has improved rendering of SVG files and provided color correction on X11 systems.
- The Angelfish web browser has a button to clear the browsing history, improved integration with the virtual keyboard, and a pop-up window for ignoring secure connection errors. Support for cosmetic filters (to hide elements on the page) has been added to the implementation of the ad blocker.
- The QMLKonsole terminal emulator has been redesigned, in which tab support and a virtual keyboard display control button have appeared.
- In KClock watches, the settings block has been moved from the navigation bar to the header menu. The navigation bar has been moved to the NavigationTabBar widget. Changed behavior when displaying alarm notifications. Provided automatic closing of the KClockd background process after 30 seconds of inactivity, if the KClock program is not running, the alarm is not set and the timer is not used.
- Significantly expanded the capabilities of the program for listening to Kasts podcasts. Added support for sections with information about different episodes mentioned in RSS and MP3 tags. The settings are divided into separate categories. The global menu has been replaced with a bottom bar and a context menu in the top bar. Sorting of subscriptions taking into account unheard episodes is provided. The episodes page offers a single list, instead of being divided into tabs. Significantly accelerated the operations of adding and updating subscriptions, which in some situations began to run up to 10 times faster. Added the ability to synchronize information about subscriptions and listened episodes through the gpodder.net service or the nextcloud-gpodder application.
- The Tokodon Mastodon client has improved the implementation of the sidebar in the interface, which now only shows when there is enough screen space and displays account avatars. Spell checking support has been added and basic account management tools have been implemented.
- Continued modernization of the calendar-scheduler Kalendar.
- Spacebar, a program for receiving and sending SMS, now has support for MMS messages. Application has been migrated from oFono API to ModemManager. Added the ability to customize the color and font size for messages of chat participants. Added the ability to delete individual messages and resend undelivered messages.
- The interface for making phone calls Dialer has been moved from the oFono API to ModemManager. The application is divided into two components - GUI and background service.
- The NeoChat messaging program is included (a fork of the Spectral program, rewritten using the Kirigami framework for creating an interface and the libQuotient library for supporting the Matrix protocol).
Source: opennet.ru