Linux kernel 6.2 with Apple M1 soc and Intel Arc support is out

Version 6.2 of the Linux kernel is out. This year’s first kernel release has direct support for Intel Arc graphics as well as Intel’s On-Demand driver. Also, support for Apple’s M1 processors is now in mainline and therefore more stable than before.

Linux lead developer Linus Torvalds writes in a mailing list to developers that Linux kernel version 6.2 is finally out. “Maybe this isn’t as sexy a LTS release as 6.1 was, but even these normal kernels need some testing love,” he writes. Kernel version 6.1 was released late last year and was a long term support release. Version 6.2 is a regular release.

New in version 6.2 is, among other things, that there is standard support in the kernel for Intel’s Arc cards. There is also support for the first time for the paid On-Demand driver that can be purchased on fourth-generation Xeon CPUs for extra computing power. There is also beta support for accelerated graphics on GeForce RTX30 cards with the Ampere architecture on Nouveau.

The new kernel also includes mainline support for Apple’s M1 chips for the first time. This was previously included in the kernel as a test functionality, but now the support is definitely good enough. There are several distros trying to get Linux working on Mac systems with the M1 soc. Asahi Linux is the best known of these; the developers already released a working version in 2021.

Other notable new features are an update to the NTFS3 kernel driver that allows files to be hidden on Windows systems and there is RISC-V support for persistent external drives. The makers also want to lay the foundations for future hardware and software. For example, there is wake-on-connect/disconnect for USB 4 devices and the foundation has been laid for Wi-Fi 7 and 800Gbit/s connections.