Lately, GNOME appears to be concentrating on updating old defaults with more modern ones, and opinions on this shift vary based on whom you consult. It enhances the well-known desktop environment to appear and feel more polished, providing consistent styling throughout applications and the interface.

GNOME’s design team is exploring a switch to Inter, a popular open-source sans-serif typeface first published in 2017 by Swedish programmer Rasmus Andersson.

Inter pitches itself as a “carefully crafted & designed” font for computer screens.

Inter’s clarity, versatility, and flexibility, along with various weights, OpenType capabilities, and glyph support for 147 languages, have led to its application in various contexts, including website content, brand logos, NASA instruments, and even healthcare devices.

Given that this font is specifically crafted for computer user interfaces (where a high x-height is beneficial), Inter seems to be an excellent match for the GNOME desktop. If you were looking for more insights, then the design team's initiative for this change is worth a read.