An update to the Gnome desktop is coming in Gnome 40 (Gnome seems to be going from 3.xx to 40) which apparently will be here* in March 2021. See blogs.gnome.org.
Major changes (at least the ones that grabbed my attention) are:
- A switch from vertical to horizontal layout for the panel and workspace grid
- The empty boot screen is replaced with panel, workspaces and search field visible
- Customisable app grid - rather than alphabetical
- Search results now appear in an overlaid window rather than a new screen
My initial reaction is that these seem to be improvements for the good. I'm not too bothered about the move from vertical to horizontal, but yes, having to click on Activities to begin doing anything was an unnecessary obstacle, especially for new users.
I hardly ever used the rather turgid alphabetical app grid, and the ability to find frequently used programs without cluttering the panel is welcome.
And the very useful search feature definitely seems to flow better as an overlay.
*As here for me is Debian Stable, when this Gnome release will actually arrive is a different matter. Will it make Bullseye in the new year? Or will I have to wait another two years for the next release? If it arrives in Bullseye, will Gnome release a new version of improvements and bug fixes a few months after Bullseye is released, meaning I will have to run a flawed release for two years?
Oh well, such is life.
Here are some comparisons of mock ups of how the new release is expected to look, compared to Gnome 3.30 in Debian Buster:
Boot
App grid
Workspace picker
Search
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