November 24, 2025
It’s official: Fedora 43 is here, and it has finally done what we all knew was coming. The Workstation edition has completely removed the X11 session. If you install the default GNOME 49 desktop, you are using Wayland. Period. If you have legacy apps that don't play nice, or an Nvidia card that still glitches out, your only option is to deal with it (or switch distros).
This is classic Fedora: pushing the "future" before the present is quite ready. They claim it’s for performance and security—and sure, on my AMD framework laptop, it’s buttery smooth. But for the users clinging to Xorg for screen recording reliability or specific gaming workflows, this is a forced march.
Aside from killing X11, they’ve replaced more perfectly functional apps. The video player 'Totem' is gone, replaced by "Showtime." The document viewer is now "Papers." Why do we need to re-brand a PDF viewer? It feels like change for the sake of change, fitting the modern "minimalist" aesthetic that hides half the buttons you actually need.
Under the hood, we get Kernel 6.17 and Python 3.14 (yes, the Pi release). The new Anaconda WebUI installer is now standard across all spins, which makes installing Linux look like you're configuring a router. It’s pretty, but it feels weirdly disconnected from the system.
Is it good? Yes. It's Fedora. It's stable, fast, and stays out of your way. But the aggressive removal of X11 draws a line in the sand. Legacy compatibility is officially over. Upgrade at your own risk.