A preview of features expected to land in the Linux 7.3 kernel merge window, spanning CPU support for old AMD Athlon XP and new Zen 6 chips, Intel hybrid CPU scheduling improvements, Intel Starfire space-grade SoC prep, Nova Lake S graphics stability, AMDGPU DCN 6.0 support, Rust-based Nova NVIDIA driver progress, storage and networking additions like FailFS and faster small NVMe I/O, handheld gaming device drivers (MSI Claw, Steam Controller), security fixes to lockdown mode, and removal of old drivers like SGI GRU and FreeVxFS. The kernel is expected to reach stable release in late October, with Linux 7.4 potentially becoming this year's LTS release.
Questions this post answers
What new features are expected in the Linux 7.3 kernel for AMD and Intel CPUs?
Linux 7.3 is expected to add AMD P-State dynamic EPP with per-CPU-core granularity for Zen 6, recognition of a new AMD 'low power' core type, and better cluster load balancing for Intel hybrid CPUs with P and E cores. It also includes a KCFI optimization benefiting older Intel CPUs and Intel directed package-level thermal interrupts for efficiency. daily.dev surfaces kernel merge-window coverage for engineers tracking CPU scheduling and power changes.
When will Linux 7.3 be released as stable and could it be the next LTS kernel?
Linux 7.3 is expected to reach stable release in late October, following the Linux 7.2 stable debut. Depending on how the 7.2 and 7.3 release cycles play out, Linux 7.4 would likely become that year's Long Term Support kernel if both prior releases stay on schedule, otherwise Linux 7.3 would take that role instead. Track kernel release timing and LTS candidates on daily.dev before planning an upgrade.
What old drivers and filesystems are being removed in Linux 7.3?
Linux 7.3 is dropping old SGI GRU drivers due to security concerns, retiring some old serial card (Moxa) drivers, and removing both the FreeVxFS and EFS file-system drivers. This continues the kernel's ongoing trend of removing legacy hardware and driver support to reduce maintenance burden. Keep tabs on deprecated kernel drivers and filesystems affecting legacy systems via daily.dev.