Linus Torvalds announced the availability of Linux 6.16-rc1, the first Release Candidate of the next kernel series. With the integration window closing after two weeks of intense activity, the community can now begin testing what will be the next major kernel update. As usual, this preview release is not intended for production environments, but it does open the door for detecting bugs and fine-tuning new additions.
The arrival of Linux 6.16-rc1 It incorporates a wide range of new features focused on both hardware compatibility and performance improvements. and stability. Following numerous reports, developer input, and the classic avalanche of changes in the final days of the merge window, the kernel is now taking shape for its stable release, scheduled for late July or early August.
Linux 6.16-rc1 expands support for next-generation hardware
One of the areas that shines the most in Linux 6.16 is the Incorporation of new AMD and Intel drivers, in addition to the long-awaited support for NVIDIA Blackwell and Hopper GPUs via the Nouveau driver. Also included is support for the Intel APX system, as well as optimizations to USB audio support, which now allows offloading in the main kernel.
Additionally, the AMDKFD driver for AMD GPU computing can now be activated on RISC-V architectures., opening the door to new platforms and configurations. AMD and ZTE have collaborated to validate this functionality, resulting in more options for open computing on alternative systems.
Key updates in emerging architectures: RISC-V and LongArch
In the RISC-V section, Linux 6.16 debuts Support for the Supervisor Binary Interface (SBI FWFT) firmware feature extension, necessary to handle new capabilities and extensions to the RISC-V ISA. This update also adds support for getrandom in vDSO, the mseal call system, optimized routines for RAID6 calculations, and support for SiFive extensions. Robustness and internal cleanup improvements are also added to symbol handling, misaligned access handling, and atomic instruction patching.
For its part, LoongArch adds long-awaited support for multi-core scheduler, as well as Stackleak protection, MSEAL support, and an increase in the maximum theoretical number of supported cores to 2048, among other minor tweaks aimed at improving the experience on Chinese-origin processors.
Improvements to file systems and stability
The bcachefs file system continues to evolve following the data loss incident in previous versions. Improvements have been made to stack consumption, introspection, repairs, and error messages.; this resolves a serious bug detected in version 6.15. The lead developer has emphasized the importance of following the recommendations before running critical operations like fsck, to avoid unnecessary damage to the experimental file system.
On another front, The EXT4 file system receives support for large files and atomic writes on bigalloc systems., while bcachefs benefits from greater stability and error repair capabilities.
What's new for developers and internal optimizations in Linux 6.16-rc1
The Rust subsystem adds new abstractions for different parts of the kernel., such as the inclusion of assert! KUnit-mapped macros, support for compiling modern language releases, and improvements to core-specific crates. The documentation and coding guides have also been improved, including updated instructions for Ubuntu.
For more control over symbol export, the macro EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL_FOR_MODULES is introduced, which allows you to restrict access to certain modules, offering greater flexibility and security when managing internal dependencies between parts of the kernel.
Driver Progress and Legacy Hardware Support
In the staging area, GPIB drivers for the historic general-purpose bus are almost ready to leave the testing ground., approaching full inclusion in the core more than fifty years after the bus's introduction. This advance is significant for those who still rely on traditional instrumentation hardware.
Performance improvements and preliminary benchmarks
The first performance comparisons show Slight but consistent increases on AMD Ryzen AI Max+ and Strix Halo systems, both in CPU tests and integrated Radeon 8060S graphics. These improvements have been noted compared to Linux 6.14 and 6.15, highlighting that any progress on these already highly optimized platforms is welcome.
Previous Nginx performance regressions on recent AMD hardware have been fixed, ensuring that new versions maintain stability and expected performance across multiple environments.
Kernel development continues at its usual pace, with key contributions to hardware, file systems, and development tools.New Release Candidates are expected to be released every Sunday in the coming weeks, culminating in the stable release in late July or, depending on the RCs, early August 2025.