- GIMP 3.0 improves interface for high-resolution screens
- Keep projects compatible with older versions
- Extensive testing ensures GIMP 3.0 is bug-free
After two decades of anticipation, the latest version of the popular image editor GIMP (GNU Imaging Program) is finally about to be released.
As a popular, free, open source Photoshop alternativesGIMP has been a reliable tool for users since its launch in 1995.
The transition from GIMP 2.x to 3.0 marks an important milestone in the software’s long history, bringing modern features and improvements while maintaining the familiar experience that users have come to expect.
GIMP 3.0 released
The leap from GIMP 2.x to GIMP 3.0 took much longer than users initially expected, primarily due to the complexity of maintaining GIMP. Open source The project has received contributions from a large global developer community.
GIMP 2.x versions have remained available for over 20 years, with incremental updates introducing small but important improvements over time.
Beginning with the release of GIMP 2.0 in 2004, subsequent versions such as 2.4X (2007), 2.6X (2008) and 2.8X (2012) have kept the software relevant in the ever-changing digital environment. The latest 2.10X update was released in 2018, making it six years old.
GIMP 3.0 is currently expected to be released in late December 2024 or early January 2025.
Despite the long wait, the release of GIMP 3.0 is expected to offer a host of modern features, making the software more user-friendly and capable of meeting the needs of today’s graphic designers.
One of the most notable changes in GIMP 3.0 is the new user interface. While the layout remains familiar to long-time users, the design has been smoothed and optimized for high-resolution displays. This is an important improvement as older versions of GIMP often suffered from scaling issues on larger modern screens. In GIMP 3.0, many illustrations have been converted to SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), ensuring that they maintain their quality regardless of the display resolution.
Another focus of the GIMP 3.0 update is compatibility. The GIMP development team has worked extensively to ensure that projects created in earlier versions of the software will still work in newer versions. This includes stabilizing the public GIMP API (Application Programming Interface), which will make it easier to port plugins and scripts from GIMP 2.10 to GIMP 3.0.
As GIMP has evolved over the years, users have come to rely on various third-party plug-ins, so this backwards compatibility is crucial for a smooth transition.
As with any major software update, GIMP 3.0 is undergoing extensive testing. this release candidate Feedback is provided to the community, allowing users to report any bugs or issues they encounter.
According to the development team, the speed of the final release depends on the nature of the bugs found. Small, easily fixed bugs may result in a quick final release, while more significant issues may prompt a second release candidate for further testing.
through Tom’s Hardcore