diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index b4616205..ed82d439 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1510,7 +1510,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fractal"
-version = "6.0.0"
+version = "7.0.0-beta"
 dependencies = [
  "ashpd",
  "djb_hash",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 6fab93f4..a5235760 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "fractal"
-version = "6.0.0"
+version = "7.0.0-beta"
 authors = ["Julian Sparber <julian@sparber.net>"]
 edition = "2021"
 rust-version = "1.76"
diff --git a/data/org.gnome.Fractal.metainfo.xml.in.in b/data/org.gnome.Fractal.metainfo.xml.in.in
index f20014a2..6e39b7a8 100644
--- a/data/org.gnome.Fractal.metainfo.xml.in.in
+++ b/data/org.gnome.Fractal.metainfo.xml.in.in
@@ -71,6 +71,52 @@
   </content_rating>
 
   <releases>@development-release@
+    <release version="7~beta" type="development" date="2024-03-28">
+      <description>
+        <p>
+          Spring is here in Fractal land. Birds chirping, flowers blooming, and a new beta for you
+          to try!
+        </p>
+        <p>
+          Staff’s picks:
+        </p>
+        <ul>
+          <li>
+            Encryption support has been extended, with server-side key backup and account recovery.
+          </li>
+          <li>
+            Messages that failed to send can now be retried or discarded.
+          </li>
+          <li>
+            Messages can be reported to server admins for moderation.
+          </li>
+          <li>
+            Room details are now considered complete, with the addition of room address management,
+            permissions, and version upgrade.
+          </li>
+          <li>
+            A new member menu appears when clicking on an avatar in the room history. It offers a
+            quick way to do many actions related to that person, including opening a direct chat
+            with them and moderating them.
+          </li>
+          <li>
+            Pills are clickable and allow to directly go to a room or member profile.
+          </li>
+          <li>
+            Many more improvements on the accessibility front, for better navigability with a screen
+            reader.
+          </li>
+        </ul>
+        <p>
+          As usual, this release includes other improvements, fixes and new translations thanks to
+          all our contributors, and our upstream projects.
+        </p>
+        <p>
+          As the version implies, there might be a slight risk of regressions, but it should be
+          mostly stable. If all goes well the next step is the release candidate!
+        </p>
+      </description>
+    </release>
     <release version="6" type="stable" date="2024-01-18">
       <description>
         <p>
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 02f91baa..20346206 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 project('fractal',
         'rust',
-        version: '6',
+        version: '7.beta',
         license: 'GPL-3.0-or-later',
         meson_version: '>= 0.59')
 
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ gnome = import('gnome')
 base_id = 'org.gnome.Fractal'
 application_id = base_id
 
-major_version = '6'
-pre_release_version = ''
+major_version = '7'
+pre_release_version = 'beta'
 
 version = major_version
 if pre_release_version != ''
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ dependency('glib-2.0', version: '>= 2.76') # update when changing gtk version
 dependency('gio-2.0', version: '>= 2.76') # always same version as glib
 dependency('gtk4', version: '>= 4.12.0')
 dependency(
-  'libadwaita-1', version: '>= 1.5.beta',
+  'libadwaita-1', version: '>= 1.5',
   fallback: ['libadwaita', 'libadwaita_dep'],
   default_options: ['tests=false', 'examples=false', 'vapi=false']
 )