A new version of the Linux kernel has been released

Jul 22, 2015 09:08 GMT  ·  By

The latest version of the stable Linux kernel, 4.1.3, has been made available by Greg Kroah-Hartman, which means that this is now the most advanced version released.

It's been a while since the 4.x branch was released, and now it's coming into its own. This particular branch has already received quite a few updates, and it's been integrated with numerous distros already. The fact that it's the most advanced out there is also a good incentive to use it if you want the best support for the latest hardware.

To make things even better, Linux kernel 4.1.x has been deemed an LTS branch, which means that it's going to be around for a very long time. The amount of time the new branch is going to be supported is not determined beforehand, so you can't really know how long developers will keep sending patches. On the other hand, an advanced LTS version of the Linux kernel is really appealing for developers.

What's new in Linux kernel 4.1.3

“I'm announcing the release of the 4.1.3 kernel. All users of the 4.1 kernel series must upgrade. The updated 4.1.y git tree can be found at git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-4.1.y and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser: http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git;a=summary,” said Greg Kroah-Hartman in his regular message.

If you are using any of the versions released until now, you might consider an update to the latest version. According to the changelog, quite a few new drivers have been added, numerous fixes have been implemented, and some important ALSA changes have been made for various laptops (Acer Aspire V5, Fujitsu Lifebook E780, and Dell E7450).

A complete list of changes in this branch of the kernel can be found in the official announcement. You can download Linux kernel 4.1.3 right now from Softpedia, but please keep in mind that this is the source package, and you will have to compile it.