The COSMIC Desktop environment, developed by System76 for Pop!_OS and increasingly adopted across other Linux distributions, just received a beautiful visual polish update. As of mid-January 2026, system-wide rounded corners and window shadows are now available across all applications — giving the desktop a more modern, cohesive, and premium look.
What’s new?
- Rounded corners that apply consistently to both floating and tiled windows
- Subtle window shadows that add depth and separation between elements
- No extensions or extra tweaks required — the changes work out-of-the-box on all apps
These enhancements make COSMIC feel more refined and contemporary, similar to the polished aesthetics users love in macOS or the latest Windows designs, but with the full power and customizability of Linux.
How to Customize the New Look Head to Settings → Desktop → Appearance → Window shadow and corners Here you can:
- Match corners to your chosen style (round, slightly round, or square)
- Toggle shadows on/off for different window types
- Fine-tune the appearance to your exact preference
Quick rollout details (published January 14, 2026): If you’re running Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS (which ships with COSMIC 1.0 stable), simply run your regular system updates — the features will arrive automatically. Users on other distributions packaging COSMIC should see these improvements rolling in soon.
“Blur functionality is being actively worked on and will be the next thing we see soon in the desktop environment.” — COSMIC developer (via Reddit)
This update is part of COSMIC’s rolling release model, which delivers frequent, incremental improvements instead of waiting for big version jumps. Expect more polish (including the highly-requested blur effects) throughout 2025–2026.
Why it matters for cloud & dev workflows A cleaner, more visually comfortable desktop environment reduces eye strain during long sessions — especially useful when managing cloud instances, containers, Kubernetes clusters, or remote development environments through Pop!_OS or COSMIC-powered setups.
Stay tuned for more COSMIC coverage as System76 continues to evolve this exciting Rust-powered desktop environment!
What do you think of the new rounded corners and shadows? Have you tried COSMIC yet? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
- Design
