Latest Linux Kernel RC Contains Changes Galore

Mar 16, 2026

Linux kernel 7.0-rc3 includes more changes than have been made in a single release in recent history.

Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, isn't exactly happy that there are so many changes coming to a single release candidate (RC) of the open source kernel. The problem is that, generally speaking, RC releases don't tend to receive new features, but that's not the case here. Torvalds believes this current release cycle is "busier than he'd like."

On that, he said in a kernel.org post, "admittedly one reason I don't worry too much is that a rather big portion of rc3 is selftests (almost a fifth of the patch), and nothing in the rest really looks particularly scary. Many of the commits in here are trivial – small cleanups or adding hardware IDs or quirks, etc." Torvalds adds, "There's just more commits than is the norm at this point."

Does that mean RC3 includes more new features? No. Nor are the bugs being fixed deal-breakers. Most of the bugs are small, so the release is stable. The concern is simply how many commits have hit the kernel.

Soon, the 7.0 kernel should hit the "calming down" phase, which will be quite welcome, given that (according to Phoronix) "Ubuntu 26.04 plans for Linux 6.20~7.0 and their plans remain that way, even if it means the stable Linux 6.20~7.0 stable release won't be officially out quite in time for the initial ISO release."
 
 

 
 
 

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