Linux 6.18-rc7 Released With Late Hardware Improvements
Linux 6.18-rc7 has continued landing many bug/regression fixes for this last kernel release of 2025. With this also being the last major Linux kernel version of 2025, Linux 6.18 is also anticipated to become the annual Long Term Support (LTS) kernel version.
Among the fixes this week found in Linux 6.18-rc7 include correcting the MIPS RISC-V vendor ID that was incorrect both in the Linux kernel and the QEMU testing code that developers were using. The latest kernel code also enables both touchscreens on the AYANEO Flip DS handheld gaming device. Also merged this week were improvements for the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and various Alienware laptops. Some other hardware fixes/improvements in Linux 6.18-rc7 also include helping out the ELECOM M-XT3URBK and SONiX AK870 PRO devices.
See our Linux 6.18 feature overview to learn more about the changes coming to this kernel release likely due out next Sunday unless a v6.18-rc8 test release ends up being warranted.
Linus Torvalds wrote in the 6.18-rc7 announcement:
"So the rc6 kernel wasn't great: we had a last-minute core VM regression that caused people problems.
That's not a great thing late in the release cycle like that, but it was a fairly trivial fix, and the cause wasn't some horrid bug, just a latent gotcha that happened to then bite a late VM fix. So while not great, it also doesn't make me worry about the state of 6.18. We're still on track for a final release next weekend unless some big new problem rears its ugly head.
And rc7 is also a much smaller set of changes than what we had in rc6, which again makes me think we're in good shape."
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