What’s New in Linux Kernel 5.14? Key Features and Hardware Support
Linux kernel 5.14 has been promoted to stable, bringing extensive hardware support, core scheduler enhancements, new graphics drivers, expanded ARM and RISC‑V capabilities, and numerous updates for laptops, servers and peripherals, offering developers a richer, more secure platform for modern workloads.
Linux 5.14 has been promoted to a stable release, delivering the latest features, hardware support, and other kernel innovations before the wave of 2021 autumn Linux distributions.
Processor Updates
Core scheduler improvements for safer HT/SMT handling, especially in cloud environments.
VirtIO‑IOMMU support added for x86 (previously only AArch64).
Support for a variety of new Arm SoCs.
RISC‑V gains transparent hugepages, KFENCE, and other kernel features.
ACPI CPPC CPUFreq frequency invariance support.
Extensive cleanup of x86 FPU code.
Preparation for upstreaming more OpenRISC LiteX drivers.
Continued work on Intel Alder Lake hybrid CPUs, including new thermal code and P‑State handling.
Upstream support for the Microwatt POWER soft‑CPU core.
ARM64 preparation for CPUs that no longer support 32‑bit execution.
RAS/EDAC changes for future Intel Xeon CPUs with HBM memory.
Default disabling of Intel TSX on additional CPUs.
Display / Graphics Updates
Microsoft Hyper‑V display driver added.
SimpleDRM merged.
Support for AMD Yellow Carp and Beige Goby GPUs.
Intel Alder Lake P graphics support.
AMDGPU hot‑plug now functional.
16‑bpc display support in AMDGPU.
PCIe ASPM enabled by default in AMDGPU.
AMD SmartShift laptop graphics support.
Hantro VPU driver added for G2 decoder.
Numerous other open‑source graphics and display improvements.
Laptop Enhancements
AMD SFH support for newer Ryzen laptops (light sensor and presence detection).
Hardware‑privacy support for Dell laptops.
Ability to modify Lenovo ThinkPad BIOS settings from Linux.
Performance fixes for Intel ISST driver in certain HPC benchmarks.
Various other Linux laptop support improvements.
Other Hardware Improvements
Mainline kernel support for Raspberry Pi 400.
Reduced latency for USB audio drivers.
AI‑accelerator driver enhancements for Habana Labs Goya and Gaudi.
Support for Xbox One controller share button.
New driver for SparkFun Qwiic joystick.
USB4 support improvements.
New audio hardware support ranging from Alder Lake M to other chips.
Further work on CXL (Compute Express Link) support.
Major overhaul and replacement of Intel RDMA drivers.
Support for tiny, low‑cost MIPS IoT single‑board computers.
Numerous network driver updates.
These updates arrive just days after Linus Torvalds announced the 30th anniversary of the Linux kernel and precede the merge window for Linux 5.15, promising even more exciting changes.
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