The latest KDE Plasma Desktop 5.27 was released 2 weeks ago. (K)Ubuntu 22.10 based systems can now get it via KUbuntu Backport PPA.

And, KUbuntu 23.04 will ship with Plasma 5.27 by default. For (K)Ubuntu 22.04 LTS the package is still in experimental PPA for testing, it should be made into the backport extra PPA later.

UPDATE: This tutorial is OUTDATED! Though, (K)Ubuntu 22.04 can now install Plasma Desktop 5.27 from the extra PPA.

Plasma 5.27 features a new tiling system to automatically resize and place app windows side by side in screen. User can enable it in “System Settings > Workspace Behavior > Desktop Effects“. Then use Shift + Drag to tile windows, and use Windows Logo key + T to configure the layout. See more about KDE Plasma 5.27.

New window tiling systm

1. Add the PPA

The new packages are made into KUbuntu Backports PPA for (K)Ubuntu 22.10.

First, search for and open terminal (Koncole) from start menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports

Type user password when it asks while no asterisk feedback,and hit Enter to continue.

2. Update package cache

Adding PPA should automatically refresh the package cache now. But in case you’re trying this in a Ubuntu based system that does not do the update, run command in terminal to manually refresh cache:

sudo apt update

3. Install KDE Plasma 5.27

Finally, KUbuntu 22.10 user or Ubuntu Studio 22.10 (not tested) can upgrade to Plasma desktop 5.27 by running command below in terminal (koncole):

sudo apt full-upgrade

Non-KDE user may also install the desktop environment by running command:

sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop

However it’s better to write down all the packages it’s going to install, so you can uninstall them to restore your system easily.

After installation, restart your computer and verify by going to System Settings -> About this System.