Debian is an end-user distribution, not a development tool. It bundles stable versions of software, which it releases at (somewhat) timed intervals. The Debian

Debian is an end-user distribution, not a development tool. It bundles stable versions of software, which it releases at (somewhat) timed intervals. The Debian model of software development means that software developers target testing/sid for their new versions (and work to make sure the dependencies they need are in sid!) so that their software is automatically ready for inclusion when a new release is made. There's two problems with that: many tools no longer have multiple development lines, which means that Debian can't keep its stable releases secure without manual backporting effort, and upstream developers don't care about getting their software in Debian. This means that Debian unstable already lags behind, as you notice, but also that the freeze-before-release takes longer than necessary. But in my view, those are mainly ecosystem problems, not just Debian problems.