It's Official: Linux Kernel 5.10 Will Be an LTS Release

It’s official, the upcoming Linux 5.10 kernel series will be an LTS (Long Term Support) series supported with maintenance updates for at least two years from the release date.

According to a recent tweet from renowned Linux kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman, the next LTS (Long Term Support) kernel release will be Linux 5.10, which recently entered development with a first Release Candidate (RC) milestone already available for public testing.

This means that Linux kernel 5.10, which will probably see the light of day near the Christmas 2020 holidays, will receive updates for at least two years. But, as it happened with previous LTS kernel series, support could be extended to up to six years, probably until December 2026.

Currently supported Linux kernel series are Linux 5.4 until December 2025, Linux 4.19 until December 2024, Linux 4.14 until January 2024, Linux 4.9 until January 2023, as well as Linux 4.4 until February 2022, according to kernel.org.

Linux kernel 5.10 will join them later this year in December when the final release hits the streets. A final release date is not yet set in stone since development just started, but it can only happen on December 13th or December 20th, depending on how many RCs (Release Candidates) will be released.

This is great news for hardware vendors and Linux OS maintainers as they can plan ahead for the Linux kernel version to use on their upcoming releases, and an LTS (Long Term Support) kernel is perfect for those wanting to offer a very stable user experience while providing the best performance.

Greg Kroah-Hartman said that new LTS kernels will always be the “last released” kernel of a year, so this year is Linux kernel 5.10. It’s too early to tell, but the next LTS kernel, after Linux kernel 5.10, will probably be Linux kernel 5.15.