On Sunday, Linux developer Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux 6.19, which will be the last update in this kernel cycle, as previously reported by Phoronix. It adds support for the modern AMDGPU driver for older AMD GCN 1.0 and 1.1 graphics cards, like Radeon HD 7000 series GPUs, along with Vulkan support through the RADV driver, and improved power management.
Linux 6.19 also includes improved HDR support with the addition of the DRM Color Pipeline, an updated Asus Armoury driver, expanded support for newer Intel Wildcat Lake and Nova Lake chips, PCIe link encryption and device authentication, and more.
Along with the launch of Linux 6.19, Torvalds also teased the start of a new kernel cycle with the next update. “As people have mostly figured out, I’m getting to the point where I’m being confused by large numbers (almost running out of fingers and toes again), so the next kernel is going to be called 7.0,” writes Linus in the update note. The next update could include even more improvements for AMD GPUs, display support for Intel Nova Lake and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chips, and expanded sensor monitoring support for Asus motherboards, among other changes.
Users on rolling release or semi-rolling release Linux distributions like Fedora and Arch can expect to get the most recent kernel update soon through their regular system updates. Distros that aren’t rolling release may take longer to get kernel updates.