Kernel 7.0 makes Linux an even better choice for old laptops
Swap memory optimizations make it easier to put off upgrading your RAM, meaning Linux kernel 7.0 comes just in time for the computer parts price apocalypse.
Linux kernel 7.0 was announced as a full release over the weekend by Linus Torvalds and the rest of the kernel development team. The update brought many improvements, including a boost in the memory department.
What's new
- Self-healing XFS metadata: When metadata gets corrupted in an XFS system, a daemon can now automatically heal it.
- Note that this feature only repairs metadata. Corrupted block data is still a manual job.
- File I/O error reporting: Filesystems can now tell you about I/O errors through the
fsnotifysystem. In other words, you'll now consistently get reports of file errors that will be useful in troubleshooting.
What's getting better
- Swap memory: When processes are using swap memory, there are performance improvements of up to 20 percent thanks to an ongoing reworking of swap tables.
- Intel Xe temperature detection: More sensors on Xe graphics chips have been exposed, meaning you'll get more accurate temperature readings from your system.
What's going away
- Outdated power management: The
laptop_modeutility, which primarily benefited laptops whose operating systems were installed on HDDs, has been removed. Modern laptops have been using SSDs instead for a long time, so maintaining its support was no longer worth the effort.
Zooming out
Why this update matters: The memory optimizations come at a time when RAM prices remain at record highs. That means installing Linux on RAM-limited devices is a smarter move than ever.
- Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, releasing next week, is expected to ship with this Linux kernel.
My take: I have some very old laptops that can use all the memory optimizations they can get.
Diving in
The fineprint: I'm being far from comprehensive with my list of improvements. See OmgUbuntu's roundup for a description of major changes in a very readable format. LWN's explanation, part one and part two, will give you a comprehensive review, along with KernelNewbies.
Get it now: If you don't plan to install Ubuntu 26.04 LTS next week, you can alternatively compile the latest kernel from source, starting from Kernel.org. Otherwise, bleeding-edge rolling release distros should see the update any day now.
