Linux kernel 5.19 is out, first from an Arm64 laptop

Linux kernel 5.19 is officially out. The latest version of the operating system kernel introduces a slew of new minor features and was released for the first time from an Arm laptop, according to Linux creator Linus Torvalds.

Kernel version 5.19 adds support for zstd-compressed firmware files, Realtek 8852ce 5GHz devices, and 32bit applications based on RISC-V instruction sets on 64bit systems, among others. In addition, several improvements have been made to the Direct Rendering Manager subsystem and basic support for Loongson’s Loongarch CPU architecture and Arm’s Scalable Matrix Extension has been added.

Kernel 5.19 also brings support for Arc Alchemist GPUs to the operating system. In addition, the latest kernel addresses an issue that causes systems with Intel chips from generations Skylake through Comet Lake to run less hot and consume less power when the systems are in sleep mode.

Torvalds emphasizes that he released the new kernel on an Apple laptop with a soc based on Arm architecture, using Asahi Linux. This project is needed to run Linux on Apple systems. Although he did the “real work” on another system, the developer says he’s been looking forward to using Arm64 hardware for the project for a long time.