Release Notes
Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS includes the new COSMIC Desktop Environment, designed and developed by System76.
Some GNOME apps are replaced by COSMIC apps
- GNOME Files (Nautilus) > COSMIC Files
- GNOME Terminal > COSMIC Terminal
- GNOME Text Editor > COSMIC Text Editor
- GNOME Media Player (Totem) > COSMIC Media Player
Pop!_Shop is replaced by COSMIC Store
Key components
- COSMIC Epoch 1
- Linux kernel 6.17.9
- Mesa 25.1.5-1
- NVIDIA Driver 580
Some games may start partially off-screen. Press F11 or Super+F11 to fullscreen the game
Display toggle hotkeys and an on-screen display is not supported yet
COSMIC has a built-in screenshot tool. If you require annotations, we recommend Flameshot, which can be installed from Flathub via COSMIC Store. Version 13.1 or higher is required for COSMIC
COSMIC is not currently optimized for touch devices. An on-screen-keyboard is in development.
The COSMIC Desktop will be continuously updated with new features and improvements after release
Kernels and hardware support are continuously updated in Pop!_OS
You can follow COSMIC DE feature and improvement progress on the project board
It’s almost 2026.
Ya, it seems odd to be releasing a 24.04 in 25.12 for sure. That said, 24.04 is still the current LTS and so it is the version we would be on now if they had released earlier (even a year ago).
They plan on releasing a 26.04 LTS as well. So, Pop!OS is not lagging. It just feels strange now.
As I said in another comment, critical parts of Pop!OS 24.04 are also quite up to date including the kernel, Mesa, NVIDIA drivers, and of course COSMIC itself.
Moving forward, I expect the versions of COSMIC in 24.04 and 26.04 to be the same. If I was them, I would even consider syncing Mesa between the two. It will make support and testing so much easier and they are already shipping a newer Mesa in 24.04 anyway.