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# Flatpak 1.16 Released With Better Wayland Experience and USB Device Support
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/flatpak-1-16-linux/
- Published: 2025-01-15T10:57:54.000Z
- Updated: 2025-01-15T10:57:54.000Z
- Description: Flatpak 1.16 has landed with much-needed improvements. Let's take a quick look!
- Author: Sourav Rudra
- Tags: Development Updates, News, #Import 2025-11-08 21:15

[Flatpak](https://flatpak.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) has changed the way Linux users install and manage applications, offering a very reliable solution that doesn't involve the user having to go through a mountain of documentation or finding dependencies to install an app.

Its introduction has **addressed the need for a universal package format** that seamlessly works across different Linux distributions, mostly without any issues.

A recent announcement has introduced the latest stable release of Flatpak, bringing forward some rather interesting new features and improvements.

Let's take a closer look at what's new. 🤓

## Flatpak 1.16: What's New?

![a screenshot of a terminal window that shows the flatpak version to be 1.16.0 and a flatpak install command for installing rocketchat](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2025/01/Flatpak_1.16.jpg)

Flatpak 1.16 in action.

As the first release in the 1.16.x series, the Flatpak team **had to go through thirteen unstable releases in the 1.15.x series** before they could ship out a major stable release like this.

We start things off with the newly added functionality that **allows Flatpak apps to list USB devices** that they want to use.

With this feature, apps include a list of USB devices stored as static metadata. [XDG Desktop Portal](https://github.com/flatpak/xdg-desktop-portal?ref=itsfoss.com) uses this information to notify the app about device plugs and unplugs while also enabling user permission requests, so the user is informed when an app requests access to a device.

This should improve the experience when using USB devices like gamepads, joysticks, and cameras.

In a bid to **improve accessibility**, this release introduces better support for the [WebKit](https://webkit.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) web browser engine, enabling screen readers to work properly with apps that use it. 

Similarly, **Wayland integration also sees some refinements**. Now, Flatpak creates a private Wayland socket using the [*security-context-v1*](https://wayland.app/protocols/security-context-v1?ref=itsfoss.com) extension (*when available*), ensuring the Wayland compositor can properly recognize connections from sandboxed apps.

For you, as the end user, this results in **a more secure Flatpak experience on Wayland sessions**.

### 🛠️ Other Changes & Improvements

Other than the above-mentioned highlights, here are some other notable changes:

- Configuring extra languages is now easier.
- Various memory leaks and build warnings have been addressed.
- Older versions of Flatpak, namely 1.10.x and 1.12.x, have been deprecated.
- When timezone is set via the *TZDIR* environment variable, Flatpak takes timezone data from there. This resolves an issue for NixOS users.

The [announcement blog](https://feaneron.com/2025/01/14/flatpak-1-16-is-out/?ref=itsfoss.com) is a must-read if you are keen to learn more.

## 📥 Get Flatpak 1.16

Debian and Ubuntu-based distributions may not receive this upgrade until the next major release, while Fedora is likely to get it before those distros. Users of Arch Linux, EndeavourOS, Manjaro, and other Arch-based distros can expect the update soon.

If you can't wait, then on Debian, Ubuntu, or any of their derivatives, you can run the following commands to get the latest Flatpak release using the PPA:

```
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:flatpak/stable
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
```

To check whether the upgrade was successful, you can run:

```
flatpak --version
```

If your Linux distribution doesn’t have Flatpak preconfigured, don’t worry! Follow our detailed [Flatpak guide](https://itsfoss.com/flatpak-guide/) to easily set it up so you can start installing apps in no time.

On the other hand, if you are interested in the source code, then you can visit the project's [GitHub](https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak?ref=itsfoss.com) repo.

**Suggested Read** 📖

[Using Flatpak on Linux \[Complete Guide\]Learn all the essentials for managing Flatpak packages in this beginner’s guide.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2018/05/use-flatpak-linux.jpeg)](https://itsfoss.com/flatpak-guide/)