The Fedora Project has released Fedora 44 Beta, giving Linux enthusiasts early access to the next major version of the popular workstation distribution. The beta includes significant updates like Gnome 50 and KDE Plasma 6.6 desktops, along with the Linux 6.19 kernel. This release marks a substantial upgrade for Fedora users, particularly those who prefer the KDE desktop environment.

One notable change in Fedora 44 is the switch from SDDM to Plasma Login Manager as the default login manager for the KDE edition, aligning with other KDE-based distributions. The installer has also been improved to stop automatically creating network profiles for devices not involved in initial setup, making later configuration simpler. Fedora 44 adds support for Budgie 10.10, which is transitioning from X11 to Wayland, and upgrades IBus to 1.5.34 for better Wayland support and emoji handling.

The official Fedora 44 release is scheduled for April 14, 2026, but users can download beta ISOs now for Workstation (with Gnome), KDE Plasma Desktop, server, cloud, and IoT versions. These updates reflect Fedora's ongoing commitment to modernizing its distribution while maintaining its reputation for cutting-edge Linux technology.