Linux kernel 5.19 is out, for the first time from an Arm64 laptop

Linux kernel 5.19 is officially out. The latest version of the operating system kernel introduces a bunch of new minor features and was first released 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 32-bit applications based on RISC-V instruction sets on 64-bit 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 systems are in sleep mode.

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