⚡ Raspberry Pi Desktop finally available for PC and Mac

Raspberry Pi released a new build of Raspberry Pi Desktop for PC and Mac on 6 October 2026: a 64-bit Debian Trixie (amd64) image that brings the Raspberry Pi desktop environment to ordinary PCs, and even lets recent Intel Macs boot it. Simon Long's official post recounts how the "side quest" began in 2016 as a bet from CEO Eben Upton, shipped on The MagPi cover DVD that Christmas, then as an installable version in 2017 — before years of silence, since the company earns its money from boards, not free software.

The headline addition in this release is the built-in Raspberry Pi Connect client: a PC or Mac running the Desktop can be remote-controlled (screen sharing, terminal) alongside your Raspberry Pis through the same account. The desktop includes the latest changes such as the Control Centre and the new dock. Because a PC has no unique hardware ID, devices register under a user-chosen name.

The image is flashed to a USB stick and booted in "live with persistence" mode, with a reset option; the Calamares installer also allows a full install to disk. Note that Debian has dropped 32-bit PC support, so this build is 64-bit only — fine for most PCs of the last 15 years — and experimental Debian support on Apple Silicon means M-series Macs are not supported yet. Download from raspberrypi.com.

Source: Raspberry Pi — Raspberry Pi Desktop now available for PC and Mac