new is a different concept from first api stable release. it’s been in development since 2002. 0.21 was the most recent release, and the software has been pretty much usable since 2010 at least. but this 1.0 release is a big deal because it basically means any features you currently know and like can be expected to be there for forever. it’s more of a promise than a time-based release measure
i hope someone working on KDE sees this and says “well this is unacceptable. we have to figure out why this is causing so much frame lag” and the ability to enhugen your cursor remains forever.