Didn’t get around to trying last year’s elementary OS 8.0 release? No bother as elementary OS 8.0.1 arrived this week, providing an opportune jumping-on point for new users.
Based atop the recent Ubuntu 24.04.2 release, elementary OS 8.1 is powered by Linux kernel 6.11, Mesa , etc. The kernel uplift may resolve some of the issues folks who’d tried the previous build with Linux kernel 6.8 had experience.
Those (important) foundational fittings aside, elementary devs also spent time fixing, fine-tuning and finessing a few rough edges across the many apps, tools, and home-grown technologies the distro ships with, as elementary OS’ Danielle Foré says of the update:
“We’ve been hard at work this winter addressing issues that you reported and we’ve added a couple new creature comforts along the way.”
For a breezy and bullet-laden run-through at those issues, read on.
elementary OS 8.0.1: What’s New?
A number of attentive buffs added in elementary OS 8.0.1 centre around AppCenter, the distro’s default software storefront:
- AppCenter supports dark mode brand colours and dark-mode screenshots
- If app metadata includes screenshots for Pantheon, they are shown
- App update release notes dialog window given a light redesign
- Search speed improvements
Elsewhere, Files file manager picks up flurry of fixes for issues including struggles entering file paths in search mode, files disappearing if dropped on an unmounted drive, and keyboard shortcuts not working when tabs were dragged out into separate windows.
All annoying — all now fixed.
Files also hooks up support for the admin:// URL protocol to open directories with administrator privileges, ensures the ‘New File’ submenu respects folder hierarchy in Templates, and improves handling of files when drag-and-dropping them out of Files and on to Terminal.
elementary OS 8.0.1 adds some new toggles, options, and features to its System Settings app:
- System Settings notifications can be configured/disabled
- Updates no longer download on metered connections
- Update checking no longer happens in Demo Mode
- Settings > System shows how big an update is before downloading
- Update downloading now indicated with a progress bar
- Last refresh time is more accurate if no updates are available
- Applications panel lets you disable access to notifications
- Network panel gains auto connect and reduce background data toggles
- Pages with sidebars now remember width if/when adjusted
And other areas of the distro benefitting from attention:
- Encryption step in installer now fits on a single page
- Onboarding stays centred on the screen, even if resized
- App context menu in Applications menu shows “Keep in Dock” checkbox
- Power menu now lists device model (where available)
- Sound menu now shows album art from more apps
- Dock uses opaque style when “Panel Translucency” is turned off
- New keyboard shortcut to launch screenshot app (Super + Print)
- AppArmor profile included to fix Flatpak-related issues
- Partitioning related crash in ‘custom install’ view of installer fixed
Want more details on the makeup of this release? Check the release announcement (linked further up) or head to the elementary GitHub to peruse comprehensive changelogs for the various components and constituent parts involved.
Download elementary OS 8.0.1
As before, you need to download elementary OS on a pay-what-you-want basis. Punching in a fat round zero in the ‘custom price’ box does let you download the distro for free. If you enjoy the experience and stick with it, be sure to pop back and contribute.
Elementary OS 8.0.1 is available for Intel/AMD devices, with minimum system specs requiring a 64-bit dual-core processor, 4GB RAM, and 32GB of disk space. The greater your laptop, PC, or SBC specs, the better the end-user experience should be.