Linux 7.1 has been released by Linus Torvalds with a wide range of improvements. Highlights include a new optional NTFS driver with write support built by the exFAT driver author, AMD CPU dynamic EPP power management that auto-switches performance profiles based on AC/battery state, and Intel FRED interrupt handling now enabled by default (offering up to 4-7% gains in request-heavy workloads). Apple Silicon MacBooks gain battery reporting via a new macsmc-power driver. The Steam Deck OLED audio bug present in mainline kernels for years is finally fixed. Over 140,000 lines of legacy code were removed, including ISDN, ham radio networking, and old Bluetooth protocols. Other changes include BPF support in io_uring, Btrfs shutdown graduating to stable, Intel 486 support beginning phase-out, a /proc/PID/mem security tightening, and the minimum Rust version raised to 1.85.0.
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