Matrix, a popular network for secure, decentralized communication, is getting more relevant day-by-day. The world around us is changing at a pace previously unheard of, and the need for a secure communication tool is just one of its by-products, among other things.
One such tool that helps in leveraging Matrix, is Fractal. It is one of the best Matrix clients for decentralized messaging.
With a recent announcement, Fractal 5 is here with a major overhaul 🎉
So, let's take a brief look at it.
🆕 Fractal 5: What's New?
Being a complete rewrite compared to the previous release, Fractal 5 now makes use of GTK 4, libadwaita, and the Matrix Rust SDK for providing a modern looking interface that just feels at home.
Fractal now scales properly on all kinds of screens, be it small or large; users of the previous releases should find it familiar without much of a learning curve.
Moreover, it is now possible to reply to specific messages, react to messages with emoji, and even edit/remove messages while chatting on Fractal.
You can also send your current location to any of your chats, just ensure that your system supports 'Location Services', and is enabled.
And lastly, Fractal now has support for logging into multiple accounts, with additional support for Single-Sign On (SSO). This will make it effortless to handle multiple accounts on the same client instance.
For its future releases, the developers have planned to add some neat features such as room settings, better moderation tools, and notification settings. They also want to improve the accessibility side of things.
You may go through the release notes to learn all the technical details.
I am glad to see that Fractal is being actively developed, and if you ask me, this release brings it more on par with the under development ElementX, a successor to the Element messaging app.
Suggested Read 📖
Ankush Das
I am excited about a time when Matrix is not just a niche thing used by a few, but the norm suggested by many.
📥 Download Fractal 5
You can head over to the Flathub store to grab the latest release of Fractal. If you're interested in the source code, you can refer to its GitLab repo.
💬 Do you use Fractal? Prefer other Matrix clients? Let me know below!
More from It's FOSS...
- Support us by opting for It's FOSS Plus membership.
- Join our community forum.
- 📩 Stay updated with the latest on Linux and Open Source. Get our weekly Newsletter.
