This week saw the release of a new version of Raspberry Pi OS. It is numbered 2024-07-04 and was launched on July 4. As with most updates of this kind, and like those of Debian on which it is based, it is not a new version of the operating system, and existing users will have already received all the packages if they have been applying updates regularly.
What is new are the images, which means that if the operating system is downloaded for a fresh installation, it will already include the latest packages. Below is a list of the highlights of the Raspberry Pi OS 2024-07-04 release.
Highlights of Raspberry Pi OS 2024-07-04:
- The kernel has been upgraded to Linux 6.6.31, which is in the same series but with the latest performance and security patches.
- Chromium is now on the 125.0.x series.
- Firefox has been updated to v126.0.
- The panel and PCManFM have been updated with support for customizing more than two desktops.
- The panel has also received support for customizing Labwc Wayland, a compositor now installed by default and serving as an alternative to Wayfire. It can be activated from raspi-config and has theme settings.
- piwiz, the system wizard, has been updated to offer the option to enable or disable Raspberry Pi Connection.
- Raspberry Pi Connect is now listed among the recommended software.
- raspberry-pi-ui-mods has been updated with support for touch screens.
- Wayfire has been updated to avoid crashes often encountered when using multiple Xwayland windows.
Interested users can now download the new images from the project’s download page. Existing users can receive the new packages by updating the operating system by opening a terminal and typing sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade.
