Raspberry Pi OS Desktop Gets an Icon Dock and a New Launcher

The Raspberry Pi project has unveiled a large-scale overhaul of the desktop environment in Raspberry Pi OS. As Phoronix notes, the system's stock desktop has not changed all that noticeably over the years, so the fresh OS image and the accompanying package updates released on September 15 amount to a tangible step forward for it — a significant UI/UX rework is on the table.

What Has Changed

The headline addition is an icon dock panel, which is now enabled by default. It can either complement the familiar taskbar or replace it, depending on the user's preferences.

The former main-menu widget has given way to a separate graphical application launch screen — by its description it resembles the full-screen launcher familiar from other modern environments.

The updated desktop has also gained a new task list, additional appearance settings for the dock and the desktop themselves, and an improved screenshot mechanism. The developers mention a number of other refinements as well, with details and screenshots provided in the official announcement on RaspberryPi.com.

The update continues the line of gradual modernization of Raspberry Pi OS: the system previously moved to an LTS Linux kernel and the updated LabWC compositor. The new interface is meant to bring working on single-board computers closer to the familiar desktop experience, without sacrificing the lightness for which the platform is usually chosen in the first place.

Source: Phoronix