Music player Amarok 3.3 released with Qt6/KF6 support, GStreamer audio engine, and more

Amarok 3.3, known as “Far Above the Clouds”, has been released as the latest version of this classic open source music player. This update represents a substantial technical leap, as Amarok 3.3 is now built on the Qt6 framework and KDE Frameworks 6. This marks the first move to these foundations in over a decade, providing a new base for future development and feature integration.

Following the shift in core libraries, the audio engine has undergone a major overhaul. Playback is now powered by GStreamer, which standardizes features such as ReplayGain and visualizer support for all users, regardless of platform or backend variations. This change also resolves past inconsistencies caused by dependency on different Phonon backends, delivering a unified and future-proof audio experience.

Building on these backend improvements, Amarok's database system now supports a wider range of characters, including emojis used in podcast descriptions and other uncommon symbols. Date handling — addressing issues like the “year 2038 problem” — and several data-related bugs have also been fixed, enhancing reliability.

In terms of project pace, Amarok 3.3 arrives 15 months after version 3.0 and 5 months after 3.2.2, with the majority of significant changes occurring behind the scenes rather than altering the user interface or core workflows.