System76 releases COSMIC Alpha 5 with new media player, VRR improvements, and much more

System76 has unveiled the fifth alpha version of COSMIC, its Rust-based desktop environment for Linux, specifically tailored for its Linux distribution, Pop!_OS. A notable addition to this release is the COSMIC Media Player, now set as the default media player. It leverages Vulkan for rendering and the Video Acceleration API for decoding, optimizing video playback efficiency. Audio playback support is expected to be integrated soon.

Enhancements in user navigation include updated app cycling using Alt+Tab or Super+Tab, which now follows the order of last activity. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support has been refined to accommodate a display's minimum refresh rate, ensuring smooth cursor movement even when applications fall below this threshold.

Additional updates in this version include improved user settings, the ability to open URLs directly from COSMIC Terminal with a left-click, and new header buttons for the ContextDrawer widget. These changes, alongside various other enhancements and bug fixes, aim to improve overall usability and user experience.