Linus Torvalds has announced the final release of Linux 6.18 kernel following a high volume of last-minute bug fixes. The final week of testing included minor fixes to drivers and random fixes in areas like Bluetooth, Ceph, and AFS. The kernel brings several important Linux 6.18 kernel features, including an ASUS ROG Ally Linux fix (Xbox Ally) and a fix for the Lenovo Legion Go 2.
Understanding the Linux 6.19 merge window delay
With the Linux 6.18 kernel release being pushed, the merge window for Linux 6.19 is now open, giving developers the opportunity to submit their new features, ready for several months of testing. While the last few kernels have been released on time, 6.19 is going to be delayed because the merge window coincides with the year kernel maintainer summit, so Torvalds will be traveling during the second week. This is why the Linux 6.19 merge window delay is expected.
To address this, he plans to complete a bulk of the merging before traveling. The summit may mean that the RC1 release may be delayed slightly, and any late merge window pull requests will not be accepted. Linux 6.19 is scheduled for release in February, with there potentially being a one-week delay; this could lead to there being an eighth release candidate.
How to install Linux 6.18
Now that Linux 6.18 is available, you generally do not want to try compiling it and running it yourself, as this will most likely lead to a broken system. Instead, you should wait for your distribution maintainer to make it available via the update manager. This is part of the general Linux kernel update guide for users. Once installed, you will just reboot your system. The first distributions that will get the update are Arch-based distros and bleeding-edge systems like Fedora. If you"re on Ubuntu-based distributions, you won"t get it immediately and may have to wait for a new version. These different Linux distribution updates are typical for a new Linux kernel release.
Unlike Windows, where you install third-party drivers, in Linux, they are usually included in the kernel, so when you boot Linux, everything should just work. However, if you have newer hardware, these kernel updates are important because they mean some of your hardware that didn"t work before now does. This includes the notable Sony DualSense headphone jack fix that Linux users have been anticipating.
Source: LKML via OMG! Ubuntu