Linux Kernel 7.0 Officially Released, This Is What’s New

posted by Marius Nestor on Apr 12, 2026,
updated Apr 16, 2026

While not a major release in terms of new features, despite the major version number change, Linux kernel 7.0 finally promotes Rust support to stable. The “Rust experiment” has been concluded at the 2025 Linux Kernel Maintainers Summit, and Rust is here to stay.

Some interesting new features in Linux 7.0 include support for atomic 64-byte loads and stores instructions on ARM64 CPUs, support for RISC-V Zicfiss and Zicfilp extensions on RISC-V CPUs, and 128-bit atomic cmpxchg support on the LoongArch architecture.

Read on

Update (by Roy)

From LWN and Torvalds:

• The 7.0 kernel has been released [LWN.net]

  Significant changes in this release include the removal of the "experimental" status for Rust code, a new filtering mechanism for io_uring operations, a switch to lazy preemption by default in the CPU scheduler, support for time-slice extension, the nullfs filesystem, self-healing support for the XFS filesystem, a number of improvements to the swap subsystem (described in this article and this one), general support for AccECN congestion notification, and more. See the LWN merge-window summaries (part 1, part 2) and the KernelNewbies 7.0 page for more details.

• Linux 7.0

  The last week of the release continued the same "lots of small fixes"
  trend, but it all really does seem pretty benign, so I've tagged the
  final 7.0 and pushed it out.
  
  
  I suspect it's a lot of AI tool use that will keep finding corner
  cases for us for a while, so this may be the "new normal" at least for
  a while. Only time will tell.
  
  
  Anyway, this last week was a little bit of everything: networking
  (core and drivers), arch fixes, tooling and selftests, and various
  random fixes all over the place.
  
  
  Let's keep testing, and obviously tomorrow the merge window for 7.1
  opens. I already have four dozen pull requests pending - thank you to
  all the early people.
  
  
                   Linus
  

In The Register MS:

• Linux 7.0 debuts as Linus Torvalds ponders AI's impact

  As The Register has previously reported, kernel boss Linus Torvalds doesn’t think kernel version numbers signify anything important, but he feels that once a release series reaches x.19 it’s worth rolling over to x.0 to avoid confusion.

  His Sunday release announcement for version 7.0 therefore represents a normal kernel release that just happens to feature a round number.

OMG Joey:

• Linux 7.0: faster swap, defective chip maker Intel TSX & Rock Band 4 controller support

  Linus Torvalds has released GNU/Linux 7.0, the kernel version that Ubuntu 26.04 LTS runs on. GNU/Linux 7.0 includes a new standardised filesystem error reporting system, faster swap performance and hardware video decoding for a crop of Rockchip ARM64 single-board computers. On the quirky side, Rock Band 4 Bluetooth controller support is now included. The shiny new version number does not, however, signify anything special. Linus has always been upfront that kernel version numbers tick up when the minor number gets a tad unwieldy, not because a ‘milestone’ has been reached.

It's FOSS:

• Linux Kernel 7.0 is Out With Improvements Across the Board for Intel, AMD, and Storage

  From Nova Lake audio to autonomous XFS repairs and Zen 6 prep, this release covers a lot of ground.

GoL:

• Linux kernel 7.0 is out now | GamingOnLinux

  The Linux kernel 7.0 has arrived and with it plenty of support for new hardware, lots of fixes and some new documents on AI code helpers.

gHacks:

• Linux 7.0 Released With Official Rust Support and New Code for SPARC and Alpha CPUs

  Linus Torvalds has announced the release of Linux kernel 7.

Collabora:

• From Panthor to RK3588: Advancing graphics, video and SoC support in Linux kernel 7.0

  Kernel 7.0 is out with broad hardware enablement and performance updates. Collabora contributed 227 patches from 24 developers, spanning major graphics work, multimedia fixes, and substantial enablement for Rockchip and MediaTek.

CNX:

• Linux 7.0 Release – Main changes, Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS architectures

  Linus Torvalds has just released Linux 7.0 on LKML: The last week of the release continued the same “lots of small fixes” trend, but it all really does seem pretty benign, so I’ve tagged the final 7.0 and pushed it out. I suspect it’s a lot of Hey Hi (AI) tool use that will keep finding corner cases for us for a while, so this may be the “new normal” at least for a while. Only time will tell. Anyway, this last week was a little bit of everything: networking (core and drivers), arch fixes, tooling and selftests, and various random fixes all over the place. Let’s keep testing, and obviously tomorrow the merge window for 7.1 opens.

Neowin:

• Linux 7.0 arrives as Linus Torvalds embraces a new era of AI-driven kernel development

  Linus Torvalds has officially unleashed GNU/Linux 7.0. From "corner case" Hey Hi (AI) fixes to major performance boosts, here is how the world's most famous open-source kernel is evolving for 2026.

Ji M:

• Linux 7.0 Released to Be Default Kernel in Ubuntu 26.04 & Fedora 44

  Linux Kernel 7.0 was released! Linus Torvalds announced it on Sunday afternoon: The last week of the release continued the same “lots of small fixes” trend, but it all really does seem pretty benign, so I’ve tagged the final 7.0 and pushed it out.

4 more picks:

• FPS Review ☛ Linux 7.0 Is Here, and AI Might Be Changing How Kernels Are Released

  After months of release candidates and a development cycle that Linus Torvalds himself described as “somewhat choppier than usual,” Linux 7.0 dropped on Sunday, April 12. The version number rollover from 6.x follows Torvalds’ longstanding convention of bumping to a new major number once a minor series reaches 19, so don’t read too much into the “7.0” branding — this is a normal release that happens to land on a round number.

• PC Gamer ☛ The new Linux 7.0 kernel is here and as always, it's all about lots of little improvements rather than one significant update

  If there's one thing that's been consistent about Linux, it's that when there's a new release of the kernel, it's done without fanfare or fuss. The same is true about the version system used: We're up to version 7.0 now, but that doesn't mean it's a whole new thing, just an update of the last release, with a whole bunch of improvements and additions.

  I say 'bunch', but what I really mean is a very comprehensive collection of changes. Far too many for me to list here, in fact, but if you want a detailed insight into the more significant things, head over to Phoronix for the lowdown.

• TechSpot ☛ Linux 7.0 released with self-healing XFS and expanded support for AMD, Intel, and ARM64 hardware

  The stable Linux kernel 7.0 was officially released over the weekend, marking the first major version bump since version 6.0 launched in October 2022. The new release introduces several significant updates, including expanded hardware support, self-healing capabilities for the XFS file system, networking improvements, enhanced documentation for AI coding assistants, and strengthened security features.

• XDA ☛ AI tools may be why Linux 7.0's RC cycle was so choppy, but Linus just shipped it anyway

  Linux 7.0 didn't have the smoothest of release candidate phases. Linus reported that some early builds had among the largest numbers of changes he had ever seen, and there was the ever-present chance that he would push back Linux 7.0's release to ensure everything was running smoothly. However, because Linus noted that most of the changes were small tweaks rather than major fixes to system-critical issues, he forged ahead regardless.

More here:

• Linux 7.0 is here, and AI-assisted bug finding could become the norm

  The Linux 7.0 kernel has arrived, continuing the project’s steady development cycle with a wide mix of hardware updates, reliability changes, and general fixes. The version number change comes after development reached Linux 6.19, following Linus Torvalds’ usual habit of increasing the major version at that stage to keep version numbers from climbing too high and becoming awkward to read.

  That means the jump to 7.0 isn’t tied to one or more big changes, even if the release still includes plenty of important tweaks and fixes across different parts of the kernel. Linux 7.0 hardware changes

  Support for upcoming hardware includes preparation work for Intel Nova Lake processors and early support related to Intel Crescent Island accelerator hardware expected to appear in future systems.

2 late ones:

• Linux 7.0 released with better swapping, and new hardware support

  Linux kernel 7.0 is now out. The move to version 7.0 does not mean this is some special feature-packed release. It is mostly a numbering change after the long 6.x cycle. The actual update is what you would expect from a new kernel release, filesystem work, performance tuning, and new hardware support.

• Linux kernel 7.0 released: improved support for Intel and AMD hardware

  Linus Torvalds officially announced the release of the stable version of the Linux kernel 7.0.The transition to a new major version is driven not so much by major architectural changes as by the creator's traditional approach to numbering after reaching the X.19 mark. Nevertheless, the update contains many important improvements, and it will become the technological foundation for the upcoming Ubuntu 26.04 LTS distribution.

Very late addition:

• Linux Kernel 7.0 is Officially Released: Here's What's New

  In the Linux 7.0 announcement mail, Torvalds noted that the final week of development followed a trend of "lots of small fixes". So, he felt comfortable tagging the final version and pushing it out to the world.

2 more several days later:

• Linux Kernel 7.0 Released With Official Rust Language Support

  The Linux kernel 7.0 has been released, with official support for the Rust programming language emerging as the most notable feature. Additional highlights include enhanced self-healing capabilities for the XFS filesystem and strengthened post-quantum security measures.

  According to Linux kernel maintainer Linus Torvalds and foreign media outlets such as The Register, version numbering carries no special significance. When version numbers reach x.19, they typically advance to the next major version to avoid confusion. As such, Linux 7.0 represents an incremental update focused on improvements and optimizations rather than a major overhaul.

• Network World ☛ Linux 7.0 debuts with some big changes for networking

  The Linux 7.0 kernel is now out, and it’s one of the most impactful releases in years for networking professionals.

  The Linux kernel is the core of a Linux operating system distribution. Linux is commonly used as a foundation for operating systems in the cloud and as a base for networking. While the 7.0 designation is a big number, Linux creator Linus Torvalds iterates to major version numbers on a somewhat less precise basis, often arbitrarily jumping to a new number after a prior series gets too high.