We are pleased to announce new Synex semi-rolling images, available in KDE Plasma, GNOME, and XFCE editions. This update continues the work on the Debian testing-based branch, maintaining coherence with the rest of the Synex ecosystem.
Corrections in synex-testing-release
The synex-testing-release package advances to revision 1.1.0-2 with minor corrections to the dpkg-divert-based system identity management, maintaining the behavior already described in the previous image.
Updated components
The new images share an updated base on Debian testing / Forky. Main components include Linux kernel 7.0.12, systemd 260.1, OpenSSL 3.6.3, Mesa 26.0.8, PipeWire 1.6.6, WirePlumber 0.5.14, Firefox ESR 140.11.0, and Flatpak 1.16.6. The installer remains based on Calamares with calamares-settings-synex 1.0.28. Synex Package Manager is included in version 1.1.2.
The KDE Plasma edition includes Plasma Desktop 6.6.5, KWin 6.6.5, and KDE Applications 26.04.0 such as Dolphin, Konsole, Ark, Kate, and Gwenview. The GNOME edition incorporates GNOME Shell 50.2, GDM3 50.1, Nautilus 50.1, and GNOME Control Center 50.1. The XFCE edition remains on the XFCE 4.20 series, with xfce4-panel 4.20.7, xfce4-session 4.20.4, xfwm4 4.20.0, and Thunar 4.20.8.
Considerations
The semi-rolling branch is intended for users who want newer versions of the desktop environment, kernel, and system components. Since it is based on Debian testing, it may receive more frequent changes than the stable edition and may occasionally require adjustments between updates. For environments where long-term stability is the priority, the Synex stable branch remains the recommended option.
Availability
The new Synex testing images for KDE Plasma, GNOME, and XFCE are available for download from SourceForge. As always, we recommend verifying the checksums of downloaded images before creating the installation media.
Download Synex semi-rolling here.