As anticipated, the Linux 7.2 kernel was officially announced by Linus Torvalds this Sunday (August 16), continuing the project’s long-standing tradition of punctual releases. The new kernel is expected to form the foundation of upcoming distributions, including Ubuntu 26.10, slated for release in October.
No delay despite increased bug reports
In the weeks leading up to the release, some in the community speculated about a possible delay. Developers had been inundated with notifications about bugs and regressions, largely due to the growing use of AI-powered tools that systematically hunt for issues in the kernel codebase. However, Torvalds himself had already framed this surge as the “new normal” — a phrase he reiterated in his Linux 7.2 announcement — signaling that the project is adapting to this accelerated pace of automated testing and reporting.
What’s new in Linux 7.2?
As is customary, the latest kernel iteration brings a mix of bug fixes, performance optimizations, removal of obsolete code, and expanded support for both software and hardware components. The headline additions include:
Fixed Rate Link (FRL) support for HDMI 2.1
Linux 7.2 introduces preliminary support for Fixed Rate Link (FRL), a technology that enables HDMI 2.1 connections to reach their full potential of up to 48 Gb/s of bandwidth — but only when paired with the AMDGPU open-source driver for AMD graphics chips. Without FRL, an HDMI 2.1 connection effectively operates under the constraints of the older HDMI 2.0 specification, limiting throughput and display capabilities.
Expanded Intel hardware support
The new kernel adds support for several upcoming Intel processors, including chips from the Panther Lake R family. It also enables error-correcting code (ECC) reporting for Nova Lake H and Panther Lake H CPUs, and improves compatibility with the Xeon Diamond Rapids server processors — a significant step for enterprise and data-center deployments.
USB4STREAM for direct computer-to-computer transfers
Linux 7.2 incorporates support for the USB4STREAM protocol, which allows two computers to exchange data directly over a USB4 or Thunderbolt connection without requiring a network. This could streamline file transfers and development workflows between machines.
Cache Aware Scheduling
A new Cache Aware Scheduling feature has been introduced, designed to keep running tasks pinned to a single CPU core — or to cores that share the same cache level. By minimizing the need for the processor to fetch data from main memory (RAM), the technique can meaningfully improve performance in cache-sensitive workloads.
Apple Silicon: M3 MacBooks can now boot the Linux kernel
Following incremental progress in recent releases, Linux 7.2 now allows the kernel to boot on Apple M3-powered MacBooks. The support is still in its early stages and currently requires a serial console (command-line debugging interface) — meaning graphical desktop environments aren’t yet viable on these devices through standard installation methods.
NTFS file system improvements
Linux 7.1 had already delivered a major milestone: a fully functional NTFS driver with complete read and write support. Linux 7.2 builds on that foundation, further refining reliability and performance when interacting with Windows-formatted drives.
How to get Linux 7.2
It’s important to remember that Linux 7.2 is a kernel — the core of an operating system — and not a complete distribution. Most users will receive it through updates from their chosen Linux distribution. As noted, Ubuntu 26.10 is expected to ship with Linux 7.2 by default.
For advanced users and developers who wish to test the kernel ahead of distribution updates, the source code is available for download on the official Linux kernel website, and can be compiled manually following the project’s build instructions.
