Linux kernel 6.16 is officially released, bringing enhanced hardware support through new and updated drivers, improvements to file systems, networking, and several new features. One of the notable enhancements is the introduction of support for NVIDIA Hopper and Blackwell GPUs in the nouveau graphics driver.
Key highlights of Linux kernel 6.16 include:
- Initial support for Intel Trusted Domain Extensions and Intel APX (Advanced Performance Extensions).
- USB offload support for audio devices.
- Capability to send coredumps over an AF_UNIX socket.
- A new automatic memory allocation policy for lightweight interleaved memory usage.
- Support for device memory TCP TX path, enabling zero-copy sending of TCP payloads from DMABUF memory.
- Large atomic writes for the XFS file system and enhanced futex() support.
Additional features encompass a new systemd service for running cpupower, an HD-audio control bound via ACPI for NVIDIA, support for Intel Auto Counter Reload (ACR), hardware-wrapped keys for fscrypt, and improvements for various hardware accelerators.
Users can download Linux kernel 6.16 from the kernel.org website. However, it might be wise to wait until this latest release arrives in your distribution’s stable software repositories before updating.
As Linux kernel 6.16 is released, the merge window for the next major kernel branch, Linux 6.17, is now open, with a first Release Candidate (RC) version expected for public testing on August 10, 2025. This next version is anticipated to arrive around mid to late September 2025.