A New & Fluid Lightweight Desktop
Starting with Bianbu V2.3, Bianbu officially introduces a new desktop environment deeply customized on LabWC + LXQt.
This release is not simply a “lighter desktop.” It represents a system-level redesign, spanning the graphics rendering pipeline, window scheduling model, and interaction paradigm, delivering a modern, efficient, and responsive desktop experience.
- Clean interaction: Familiar desktop workflows with smooth, direct responses and no unnecessary components.
- Lightweight efficiency: A fresh, lightweight visual design significantly accelerates system and application startup, delivering fluid, near-instant responsiveness.
- Ready out of the box: Native support for development, office, and learning applications, plus a complete AI toolchain—lightweight yet fully featured.
- Hardware-accelerated: Fully utilizes chip hardware acceleration with native RISC-V optimizations to maximize real-world performance.
| Clean & Consistent New UI Design |
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- Application menu: Optimized app categorization and layout for faster, simpler discovery.
- File manager: Focused on core file operations with clear, intuitive workflows.
- Taskbar: Grouped task management for more visible and efficient app switching.
- System tray: Unified interaction and visual design for clean, consistent control.
- Login & lock screen: Consistent interaction patterns and visual style across the entire system.
| Ultra-Responsive User Experience |
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- System startup performance
| Test item | Bianbu V2.2 GNOME | Bianbu V2.3 LXQt | Improvement |
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| Boot time（power-on -> Login Screen） | 24s | 16s | 1.5x |
| Login time (Password enter -> destop loading） | 17.5s | 7.9s | 2.21x |
| Screen unlock time（Password enter -> finish loading） | 10s | 1s | 10x |
- Native App launch performance
| Test item | Bianbu V2.2 GNOME | Bianbu V2.3 LXQt | Improvement |
|---|
| MPV launch time | 1.74s | 0.96s | 1.81x |
| Teminal launch time | 3.3s | 0.37s | 8.92x |
| Setting launch time | 3.8s | 0.93s | 4.09x |
| File manager launch time | 1.5s | 0.43s | 3.49x |
| Image viewer launch time | 1.76s | 0.21s | 8.38x |
| Test item | Bianbu V2.2 GNOME | Bianbu V2.3 LXQt | Improvement |
|---|
| Resume from suspend | 2.3s | 1.37s | 1.67x |
| Display frame rate (file manager directory scrolling) | 45FPS | 85FPS | 1.88x |
| Memory usage (idle desktop, no apps running) | 1210M | 649M | 1.86x |
Note: All test data above is measured on hardware K1 MUSEBOOk
| Why the LXQt + LabWC Stack? |
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Bianbu LXQt = LXQt + LabWC + Lightweight UI
In short, this stack delivers a desktop that is lightweight without compromise—efficient, modern, and refined:
- LXQt provides a proven, modular, lightweight desktop framework.
- LabWC delivers a future-ready, high-performance Wayland compositor core.
- SpacemiT newcustom UI, rebuilding the desktop experience from the ground up.
LXQt is an open-source, lightweight, and modular Qt-based desktop environment. Its key strengths include a powerful file manager and clear, intuitive desktop logic. It also offers excellent application compatibility, running mainstream desktop applications such as Chromium and VSCodium seamlessly.
LabWC (Laboratory Wayland Compositor) is a lightweight, stacking Wayland compositor designed for simple, efficient window management and minimal decorations:
- Built on the wlroots library
- Wayland-native, integrating seamlessly with modern Wayland applications and services
- A minimal yet highly controllable window management model
As a standalone compositor, LabWC features short rendering paths and low input latency, delivering a clean and highly efficient windowing experience.
Together, LXQt + LabWC + Bianbu’s lightweight UI are built for efficiency and crafted for speed.
The Bianbu LXQt desktop is designed for the following computing scenarios:
- Developers & power users: Clean, high-performance, low-distraction environments for focused development.
- Education & learning: Ideal for classrooms and educational hardware, with zero learning curve and ready-to-use experience.
- AI inference & cloud terminals: A lightweight desktop that frees up maximum system resources for AI workloads and cloud streaming, with fast startup times.
- Robotics & industrial computing: A stable, efficient UI foundation for robots, SBCs, and industrial control panels.
| Support K1 Device (default) |
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- BPI-F3
- Milk-V Jupiter
- LicheePi 3A
- MUSE Pi Pro
- MUSE Book
| More Features Coming Soon |
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- Redesigned Settings Center: A clean, streamlined configuration interface focused on simplicity and ease of use.
- Native AI integration: Built-in AI assistants, knowledge bases, and voice interaction for smarter workflows.
- Continuous lightweight visual evolution: Unified animations and theme switching for a more dynamic yet efficient visual experience.