There are lots of exciting plans in store for KDE Plasma this year, including a redesigned default theme and replacement for the beloved ‘Kickoff’ app launcher!

Nate Graham’s peek at the KDE roadmap for 2020 reveals these and other changes planned for Plasma, though not all are said to be guaranteed inclusion.

Breeze is KDE’s steely-cool theme, and is used by default in most (it not all) KDE-based Linux distributions, including KDE Neon, Kubuntu, and Manjaro KDE — but it might soon look a little different, as this mockup shows:

An “exhaustive plan” to improve the appearance of Breeze, the look and feel of the Plasma desktop, and the design direction taken by many of the native apps that run on the Plasma desktop is KDE’s roadmap for the year, according to Graham.

Some efforts in this area are said be underway, while others are pending development. Because the nature of UI work is often multi-faceted and intertwined, don’t expect an overnight overhaul to the interface — but do keep an ear out for the quiet trickle of changes creeping in!

SimpleMenu vs Kickoff

As part of Plasma’s new design vision there’s work on a replacement for the Kickoff application launcher (though if we’re honest Kickoff is far more than just a app launcher).

SimpleMenu channels many of the Kickoffs most popular features, but through a more modern, and organised UI. Users will be able to search for apps and files name, category or place; and be able to pin folders and files for quick access.

The intention is for SimpleMenu to replace Kickoff as the default app launcher in a future Plasma release but, as of writing, there is no definite date.

In summary, the plan is to refine and finesse the look and feel of KDE Plasma during the course of the year to make it easier to use, more attractive to look at, and more performance as a whole.