A Fresh Update for Raspberry Pi OS — Brings Security Enhancements, Performance Gains, and UI Improvements

 The Raspberry Pi has just released what is likely the final major update of Raspberry Pi OS based on Debian 12 “Bookworm.” With Debian 13 “Trixie” expected later this year, this release serves as a transitional milestone — consolidating changes introduced since the November 2024 release while introducing key refinements across system security, user experience, and performance.

For developers, educators, and embedded system tinkerers, this release is worth a detailed look. Below is a breakdown of the most impactful changes.

Screen Locking Now Functional and User-Friendly

Historically, Raspberry Pi OS (under Wayland) lacked a practical screen-lock mechanism. While swaylock was available, its default implementation simply showed a blank screen with no feedback.

This update introduces a custom front-end for swaylock, offering a visible password prompt and clear user interaction. Screen locking can now be triggered via:

• Ctrl + Alt + L
• Main Menu > Shutdown > Lock Screen

This finally brings Raspberry Pi OS in line with expected desktop behavior — especially useful in shared environments or public installations.

Auto Login Decoupling: Desktop vs Console

One critical change for users who care about physical security: console and desktop auto-login are now independently configurable.

Previously, enabling auto-login to the GUI (Ctrl + Alt + F7) also logged in TTY1 (Ctrl + Alt + F1). This effectively bypassed the lock screen, as an attacker could switch to a logged-in terminal and access the shell.

Now, users can explicitly disable console auto-login using:

• raspi-config > System Options > Boot / Auto Login
• Raspberry Pi Configuration GUI

This is a much-needed step toward aligning the OS with standard multi-user security practices.

New Printer Management Interface

The legacy system-config-printer tool — a Python app with an outdated interface — has been replaced. The Raspberry Pi team has ported the GNOME printer management plugin into a standalone application with a cleaner UI and fewer dependencies.

Accessible via Main Menu > Preferences > Printers, this tool simplifies setup of USB and network printers using the CUPS backend.

Improved Touchscreen Behavior Under Wayland

Wayland support has matured, but touch input remains an area of ongoing work. To address functional limitations (e.g., lack of native double-tap), Raspberry Pi OS has historically used mouse emulation by default for touchscreens.

This release introduces a toggle, allowing users to choose between:

• Mouse Emulation Mode (double-tap → double-click, swipe disabled)
• Native Touch Mode (swipe enabled, but no double-click)

This is configurable via Screen Configuration > Touchscreen, giving users control based on their use case. For example, kiosk-style apps may prefer native touch for gesture support, while general file navigation benefits from mouse emulation.

System-Level Enhancements

Several low-level improvements have been bundled into this release:

• Wayland Compositor: Updated to labwc 0.8.1. Stable, though slightly behind upstream.
• Kernel: Now running Linux 6.12, bringing broader hardware support and upstream fixes.
• Squeekboard Enhancements: In multi-monitor setups, users can now choose the display target for the on-screen keyboard via Raspberry Pi Configuration > Display.
• Taskbar Startup Optimization: wf-panel-pi startup latency has been reduced, improving perceived boot-to-desktop speed.
• New Dialog Utility – zenoty: The legacy zenity dialog generator has been replaced with a lightweight in-house alternative, reducing package bloat and accelerating script-driven prompts.

Chromium and Ad Blocking Changes

Due to policy and packaging changes by the Chromium maintainers, uBlock Origin can no longer be pre-installed in its full form. Instead, uBlock Origin Lite is now bundled — offering limited filtering without full dynamic rules.

While less powerful, it still provides essential protection for lightweight web browsing out of the box.

Update Instructions

For users already running Bookworm-based Raspberry Pi OS:

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade

During the upgrade, you may be prompted to approve configuration changes — review them or accept defaults (Y) if unsure.

Alternatively, if deploying to new systems, the latest image can be downloaded using Raspberry Pi Imager or directly from the official download portal.

What’s Next?

This update serves as a stable endpoint for Bookworm. Development will now begin shifting toward Debian Trixie, which is expected to bring a more modern base and possibly a complete migration to updated Wayland stacks and new compositor tools.

For now, this release provides a solid, reliable environment for development, prototyping, and deployment.