Linux Kernel 7.1 Officially Released, Here’s What’s New

posted by Marius Nestor on Jun 14, 2026,
updated Jun 18, 2026

Probably the biggest change of the Linux 7.1 kernel series is a new NTFS file system implementation, which has been in the works for the last 4 years, featuring full write support with delayed allocation, iomap, and folio integration to improve write performance, better stability, and a new suite of userspace utilities called ntfsprogs-plus.

Linux kernel 7.1 also introduces a new Landlock access right for pathname UNIX domain sockets, thanks to a new LSM hook, improvements to the amd-pstate and intel_idle drivers for better power management, and support for the exFAT file system to preallocate clusters without zeroing to reduce file fragmentation.

Read on

Update (by Roy)

By Torvalds:

• Linux 7.1

  So it's only Sunday morning back home, but it's Sunday afternoon where
  I am right now, so I'm doing the 7.1 release at the regular time -
  just not in the regular timezone.
  
  
  This obviously means that the merge window opens tomorrow, but I'll be
  in yet another timezone by then, so timing will all be a bit
  irregular. Normally I try to front-load the merge window and do as
  much as possible the first few days - this time I'm not sure that will
  work out with my laptop and a couple of long flights without internet,
  but I've made sure that I have fetched the early pull requests (thank
  you - you know who you are), so I will be able to do some of it
  off-line.
  
  
  Anyway, possible slight hiccups in the merge window aside, the news
  today is 7.1. Below is the shortlog for the last week - nothing
  particularly interesting or scary stands out, which is as it should
  be. It's mostly various smaller driver updates (gpu, networking,
  sound, misc) with some networking and trace tooling fixes. And random
  minor changes elsewhere.
  
  
  Please do keep testing despite the release, and apologies in advance
  if my merge window latency is going to be a bit random the next few
  days. I briefly considered just extending the release for a week, but
  decided it wasn't really worth it. I may come to regret that decision,
  
  
                     Linus
  

LWN:

• The 7.1 kernel has been released

  Linus has released the 7.1 kernel. "So it's only Sunday morning back home, but it's Sunday afternoon where I am right now, so I'm doing the 7.1 release at the regular time - just not in the regular timezone."

OMG!Joey:

• Linux 7.1 brings new NTFS driver, Steam Deck OLED audio fix + more

  Linux 7.1 arrives with a rewritten NTFS driver, Fashion Company Apple Silicon battery reporting, and Steam Deck OLED audio fixes alongside massive legacy code removals.

GoL:

• Linux kernel 7.1 out now with new NTFS driver, lots of hardware improvements | GamingOnLinux

  A brand new hot off the press Linux kernel 7.1 has been released bringing with it all the latest new and improved hardware support.

CNX:

• Linux 7.1 Release – Main changes, Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS architectures

  Linus Torvalds has just released Linux 7.1 on LKML: So it’s only Sunday morning back home, but it’s Sunday afternoon where I am right now, so I’m doing the 7.1 release at the regular time – just not in the regular timezone. This obviously means that the merge window opens tomorrow, but I’ll be in yet another timezone by then, so timing will all be a bit irregular. Normally I try to front-load the merge window and do as much as possible the first few days – this time I’m not sure that will work out with my laptop and a couple of long flights without internet, but I’ve made sure that I have fetched the early pull requests (thank you – you know who you are), so I will be able to do some of it off-line.

It's FOSS:

• Linux Kernel 7.1 is a Feature Release That Could Be Useful For You

  Don't let the .1 fool you, this release has plenty to offer.

Valnet:

• Linux 7.1 is here, and it kills i486 support, fixes Steam Deck audio, and overhauls NTFS

  Well, it's that time once again. After Linux 7.1 hit the release candidate branches for testing, Linus Torvalds noted that, again, more bug fixes were coming in than usual due to AI agents finding problems. It got to the point where he was getting annoyed with them clogging the secure channels. Fortunately, despite that, everything else went smoothly, and Linux 7.1 has now been released for public download.

Erik van Klinken:

• Linux kernel 7.1 released with updated NTFS driver

  Linus Torvalds officially released version 7.1 of the Linux kernel on Sunday. A new NTFS driver, Intel FRED (Flexible Return & Event Delivery), and other minor improvements make up the new release.

  Linus Torvalds announced the release via the mailing list and stated that the kernel is available for immediate download from his Git repository. Progress had been easy to track in recent months: both the upcoming NTFS changes and the nearly complete release candidate provided a clear indication of what was to come.

  The most significant addition is a completely revamped NTFS implementation, which took four years to develop. Linux has supported NTFS for decades, but write support was always cumbersome and slow. This was problematic for users of external storage that utilized NTFS. Incidentally, the new implementation is not the default; it requires a manual change.

Neowin:

• Linux 7.1 arrives with an NTFS overhaul and major hardware performance boosts

  The founder of the Linux kernel has just announced the availability of Linux 7.1. This is a stable version of the kernel that will now be tested by various Linux distributions before it is shipped to users through update managers. Some users, like those on Debian, for example, might not get it for a long time, if at all, while Fedora users can expect it in the near future.

  With Linux 7.1 out on time, the merge window for Linux 7.2 is now open, giving contributors the opportunity to send in major new features that have been waiting for the last two months. Torvalds warned that he is currently travelling and will be in another timezone, so timing for the merge window may be irregular due to timezone differences and limited internet access.

• OSTechNix ☛ Linux Kernel 7.1 Final Released: Here's What's New

  This stable version marks the end of a busy cycle that saw nearly 13,000 new changes. Over 2,000 developers worked on this version, including more than 300 people who contributed for the first time.

A couple more:

• The Register UK ☛ Linux kernel 7.1 sends Intel 486 support to silicon heaven

  Linux kernel 7.1 is out, bringing significant changes that have been brewing for years – including the long-promised removal of support for Intel's 486 chip and its contemporaries. More than 140,000 lines of code have been chopped, with more facing deletion.

  Back in May 2025, we wrote that kernel 6.15 would drop 486 support, but that change was canceled at the last minute. Now it's in: in April, Penguin Emperor Linus Torvalds merged the big change that we described back then. More work is still ahead before this is completely gone, though. The Reg reported on the Russian Baikal family of CPUs way back in 2014, and again in 2021, but now Linux support for Baikal hardware has been removed, as has support for ancient bus mouse ports.

  We've also previously described 7.1's new NTFS driver, NTFSplus. It's optional for now, but South Korean filesystems boffin Namjae Jeon has revived and rewritten the original read-only NTFS driver from the 1990s. Most importantly, now it's able to write to NTFS volumes as well as read from them, and it's been modernized in line with current kernel filesystem methods. Linux Weekly News (LWN) explained the change in its January Filesystem Medley.

• ZDNet ☛ Linux 7.1 is here to end the Intel 486 CPU era - and do some serious legacy clean up

  On his way to Mumbai for the Open Source Summit India, Linus Torvalds announced the latest Linux kernel: 7.1. This new version comes with a brand‑new in‑kernel, Microsoft's New Technology File System (NTFS) implementation, Intel's Flexible Return and Event Delivery (FRED) enabled by default, and a purge of aging code and hardware support, including the end of the road for 486 support.

2 more here:

• Collabora ☛ Kernel 7.1: Graphics, Rust, and SoC Improvements

  Linux kernel 7.1 brings improvements across filesystems, networking, scheduling, graphics, Rust, and hardware enablement, with Collabora contributing 65 patches from 16 engineers across Panthor, DRM, Rockchip, MediaTek, and driver fixes across the kernel.

• Bootlin ☛ Linux 7.1 released, Bootlin contributions inside

  Linux 7.1 was released earlier this week. As usual, the best source of information about the content of this new version will be LWN, see merge windows posts, part 1 and part 2 . This release is a bit outstanding, as it is one of the largest in kernel history, considering commits count.