KDE has released the neon-user-desktop-20260813-0523 ISO, delivering a steady weekly refresh built on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. The build maintains Plasma 6.7.4, KDE Gear 26.04.3, and Frameworks 6.28.0 while layering in HWE kernel 7.0.0-28, Mesa 25.2.8, and upstream Noble security patches. Notable additions include the long-awaited per-screen virtual desktops, simultaneous HDR and ICC color management, and restored parity for the classic Oxygen theme ahead of KDE's 30th anniversary. Users can pull the update via neon-upgrade, while developers tracking bleeding edge features should monitor the parallel Testing and Unstable build streams.
KDE neon ships weekly refresh with Plasma 6.7.4 and updated Ubuntu 24.04 patches
The August 13 ISO brings the same stable stack as last week, but with fresh build numbers and ongoing Noble security updates.
KDE neon has a new ISO in the wild. The neon-user-desktop-20260813-0523 build dropped this week, and if you're running the stable User Edition, it's your cue to pull the update. The stack remains firmly planted on KDE's August bugfix cycle: Plasma 6.7.4, KDE Gear 26.04.3, and Frameworks 6.28.0.
It's essentially a weekly refresh. You'll find the same software versions as the August 6 release, plus incremental build number bumps and Ubuntu Noble security patches from upstream.
The base is still Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. HWE kernel 7.0.0-28, Mesa 25.2.8, PipeWire 1.2.6, and Firefox ESR 153.0.4 round out the foundation.
What's new in the stack
Plasma 6.7.4 has been the headline for weeks. Per-screen virtual desktops finally shipped after more than two decades of waiting.
You can now test microphone levels directly in Settings, toggle light and dark modes with a widget, and use type-ahead file selection on the desktop. Discover got a visual overhaul, Oxygen returned to feature parity with Breeze for KDE's 30th anniversary, and HDR plus ICC color management now run side by side. AMD laptop owners get a low-brightness red-shift control, and Intel GPU performance saw targeted optimizations.
KDE Gear 26.04.3 patched over 180 programs. Elisa now follows global output changes, KDE Connect stopped breaking file transfers when notifications are enabled, and Kdenlive's timeline playhead actually stays visible during playback.
Frameworkes 6.28.0, with 6.28.1 backports rolling in after the initial release, expanded iOS and Android support across KConfig, KCoreAddons, KGpioAddons, KIconThemes, and Kirigami.
Editions and build cadence
The 30th anniversary has been a quiet undercurrent all summer. The Oxygen theme's return isn't just nostalgia. It's a deliberate nod to KDE's founding in June 1996. The community wallpaper contest announced in August rounds out the festivities, and Plasma's post-megarelease polish on Qt6 is clearly hitting its stride.
KDE neon still pushes three desktop editions in parallel. The User edition is this week's stable ISO. The Testing edition pulls from bugfix branches with limited QA. The Unstable edition bleeds feature branches with no QA at all. Mobile and Bigscreen editions lag a few weeks behind.
The build servers keep spinning, and QA coverage has finally matched up across editions after past reporting gaps left testers in the dark.
You can grab the ISO directly from the KDE files server. Verify it with the PGP signature and SHA256 hash, then head here to the neon download page for the full manifest. If you're on the User Edition, neon-upgrade will pull this next week.
Not exactly a headline-grabber for the average Linux user. For anyone who runs KDE daily, it's the kind of steady cadence that keeps things reliable. Keep in mind that the Testing and Unstable editions follow their own weekly cadence, so if you're chasing bleeding edge features, you'll want to watch the build server logs directly.
