System76 has released COSMIC Epoch 1.8, a new version of its Rust-based desktop environment. Published on September 10, 2026 – just about two weeks after Epoch 1.7 – the update focuses on bug fixes and a markedly improved touch experience.
Compositor gets better at touch and tablets
The biggest change sits in the cosmic-comp compositor, which now supports so-called grabs for touch input, making finger-driven control noticeably more reliable. Tablet handling was expanded as well. In addition, XWayland windows can now launch in a minimized state, a screenshot-tool crash was fixed, and GPU detection on hybrid laptops works more consistently.
Small polish for everyday use
In System Settings, connected Bluetooth devices can now be renamed. The applets fix a faulty microphone volume slider and pixelated icons, while the on-screen display indicates keyboard-layout changes for the virtual keyboard. Numerous translation updates round things off. Epoch releases bundle the development state of dozens of separate components into a single, tested package – making 1.8 less a feature leap than a maturity step for the still-young interface that also powers Pop!_OS.
Sources: COSMIC Epoch 1.8.0 release on GitHub and reporting by Phoronix.
