> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://itsfoss.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # GNOME 49 Launches With New Apps, Nautilus Redesign, and GNOME Shell Upgrades - URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/gnome-49-release/ - Published: 2025-09-18T01:39:55.000Z - Updated: 2025-09-18T01:39:55.000Z - Description: Many fresh applications and a refined user interface mark this release. - Author: Sourav Rudra - Tags: DE Releases, News, #Import 2025-11-08 21:15 I have been using [GNOME](https://www.gnome.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) as my daily desktop since late 2022\. It’s stable, responsive, and works well for both work stuff and media consumption. The newest release, GNOME 49, continues this trend with small but meaningful updates across apps, shell, and system features. It is a culmination of the [Alpha](https://discourse.gnome.org/t/gnome-49-alpha-released/29720?ref=itsfoss.com), [Beta](https://discourse.gnome.org/t/gnome-49-beta-released/30737?ref=itsfoss.com), and [Release Candidate](https://discourse.gnome.org/t/gnome-49-rc-released/31234?ref=itsfoss.com) builds that appeared earlier, focusing on user-facing refinements rather than dramatic changes. So, let's dive in! 🤓 ## GNOME 49: What's New? ![the system details are shown on the right on a gnome os nightly installation running gnome 49](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2025/09/gnome-49-desktop-system-details.png) This release comes packed with several refinements across apps and system components. A **new donation button** has been added to the *About* panel in *Settings*, giving users a simple way to support GNOME development directly. To complement this, a donation reminder notification now appears a couple of times each year. It links users to GNOME’s [official donation page](https://donate.gnome.org/?ref=itsfoss.com). The team says it will remain infrequent and unobtrusive. Alongside these, the release also delivers visible improvements like lock screen media controls, updated tray icon support, and many [Nautilus](https://apps.gnome.org/en/Nautilus/?ref=itsfoss.com) tweaks. ## GNOME Shell Upgrades ![teardrop by massive attack is shown playing in the new media controls on gnome 49's lock screen, the time and date are shown above it too](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2025/09/gnome-49-lock-screen-media-controls.png) We kick things off with better animations and enhanced support for legacy tray icons in GNOME Shell, ensuring older applications display and behave more consistently. Next are the newly added **media controls on the lock screen**, which let you easily play, pause, or skip tracks using the three dedicated buttons. Information about the media, including the app, title, author, and thumbnail, is also shown on the left. A dedicated accessibility menu has also been added to the lock screen, along with better-styled media notifications, and the Shell now indicates if any battery charging limits are active. If you hated not being able to adjust the brightness of all connected monitors, then you are in luck. **GNOME 49 adds per-monitor brightness control** in *Quick Settings* (*the dropdown menu on the top-right*), shows the workspace switcher for all connected monitors, and includes support for pad dials. ## New Default Apps ![papers (or document viewer) is shown on the left, showtime (or video player) is shown on the right](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2025/09/gnome-49-papers-showtime-apps.png) GNOME 49 introduces three new **default application**s. [Showtime](https://itsfoss.com/gnome-showtime/) replaces Totem as the video player, offering support for modern codecs and a simplified interface for playback. [Papers](https://itsfoss.com/gnome-papers-hands-on/) replaces Evince as the document viewer. It renders documents faster, improves navigation, and provides a more streamlined search experience. ![a screenshot of the gnome manuals app with many documentation files in it, one of them titled "promise" is shown here](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2025/09/gnome-49-manuals-app.png) **Source: GNOME* And, finally, [Manuals](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/manuals?ref=itsfoss.com) replaces Devhelp for developer documentation. It organizes content more clearly and follows GNOME’s updated design guidelines, making it easier to browse reference materials. ## Nautilus Refinements ![the about dialog is shown for nautilus (files) on a gnome 49 system, the background shows many folders located inside root](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2025/09/gnome-49-nautilus-about-dialog.png) Nautilus in GNOME 49 introduces **a redesigned search popover**, making it easier to find files and navigate results. Enhancements also include transparency for hidden files, an adaptive batch renaming window, modernized dialogs, and a new `Ctrl + .` keyboard shortcut to open the current directory in the console. Performance and usability also see improvements. Files in MTP-backed directories now load incrementally, thumbnailing is faster, and artificial delays in search have been removed. ## Fresh Wallpapers ![the appearance menu is open on gnome 49 showing many new wallpaper options, one of them is set as the wallpaper for this specific system, it has many shades of pink, blue, yellow, and white in it in a circular pattern](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2025/09/gnome-49-new-wallpapers.png) GNOME 49 also ships with **a diverse set of new wallpapers**. The updated default (*shown at the start of this article*) continues the familiar blue, boxy geometric design from past releases while adding subtle variations to refresh the look. The one I have set above is one of those newly added options. It has a clean and modern feel that fits wonderfully with the overall aesthetic. ## X11 Session Stays, For Now The GNOME developers had intended to disable X11 sessions in GDM by default, **but this led to unexpected issues**. When the "*x11-support*" option was turned off, GDM failed to detect `/usr/share/xsessions`, preventing X11 desktops from showing up at login. Because of this, [the change was rolled back](https://itsfoss.com/x11-is-back-in-gnome/) for GNOME 49\. X11 session support has been restored for now, though it is only a temporary move. The **current plan is still to drop X11 sessions by GNOME 50**, keeping support only for newer environments. [U Turn! X11 is Back in GNOME 49, For NowA temporary move that gives people some breathing room.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/icon/android-chrome-192x192-235.png)It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/thumbnail/gnome-49-x11-session-temporary-comeback.png)](https://itsfoss.com/x11-is-back-in-gnome/) ### Other Changes & Improvements Here are some of the smaller but notable changes included in GNOME 49: - The lock screen now allows restart and shutdown directly, without needing to log in first. - Glycin adds support for saving JPEG-XL and CICP support for HEIC and AVIF formats. - GNOME Snapshot defaults to H.264/MP4 when possible and gains hardware video encoding support. - Mutter introduces support for the Wayland pointer warp protocol, ICC profile, and better backlight handling. - GDM now uses dynamic users for the greeter session, improving systemd integration and removing the dbus-daemon dependency. For more information on GNOME 49, be sure to [check the release notes](https://release.gnome.org/49/?ref=itsfoss.com). [GNOME Release NotesDiscover what’s new in GNOME, the distraction-free computing platform.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-2.png)GNOME Release Notes![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/thumbnail/49.png)](https://release.gnome.org/49/?ref=itsfoss.com) ## How to Get GNOME 49? You won’t have to wait long to try it out. GNOME 49 is expected to arrive with [Ubuntu 25.10](https://itsfoss.com/ubuntu-25-10-features/) and **Fedora 43**, bringing the new desktop to their users out of the box. Rolling-release distributions like Arch Linux, EndeavourOS, and CachyOS should provide the upgrade as soon as maintainers push it into their repos. Other active distributions will follow based on their regular release cadence. If you can’t wait, you can try out GNOME 49 by loading [GNOME OS](https://os.gnome.org/?ref=itsfoss.com). Keep in mind that it is meant for testing purposes only. In the future, it is expected to become [a full-fledged Linux distribution](https://itsfoss.com/kde-gnome-official-distro/). [GNOME OS](https://os.gnome.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) **Suggested Read** 📖 [15 Simple Tips to Customize Ubuntu GNOMESome basic and interesting GNOME customization tips for enriching your experience and getting more out of your Ubuntu desktop.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/icon/android-chrome-192x192-234.png)It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/thumbnail/gnome-customisation-tips-2.png)](https://itsfoss.com/gnome-tricks-ubuntu/)