Users can start working with the long-awaited GIMP 3.0 starting next year, after working with the 2.0 build for nearly two decades.
The long-awaited rollout of GIMP 3.0 is near: a release candidate version of the photo editing software has been released. That one is almost ready to be publicly released to detect and fix any bugs, Tom’s Hardware knows.
What has changed?
According to the official blog, there are several new features in terms of performance, usability and compatibility. The updated interface is still recognizable, but brightly modernized and scalable for high-resolution screens. Therefore, the icons have been vectorized, converted from PNG to SVG files, rendering them much sharper.
The rest of the improvements happened mostly behind the scenes. The application is now compatible with multi-layer TIFF formats and supports 64-bit BMP. You can choose colors more accurately in the color management and new API functions are available. Those API features make it easier to import older plug-ins and scripts into GIMP 3.0. Small changes that as a whole make for a much smoother user experience.
The stable build of the 3.0 version is not yet for immediately, as this version must first “feel stable enough,” the team says.