After Canonical announced last year that it would use the latest upstream Linux kernel as much as possible in the new version of Ubuntu, it once again reiterated that it will continue to target the latest mainline kernel in Ubuntu 26.04 LTS released this spring, that is, it plans to use Linux 6.20 (more likely to be released under the name Linux 7.0) without returning to an older version.
This strategy continues Ubuntu's approach of gradually getting rid of the "conservative kernel rhythm" in recent versions, hoping to provide users with more cutting-edge kernel features and hardware support in the long-term support version.
Due to the year-end holiday factors, the current Linux 6.19 development cycle is confirmed to be extended by one week: Originally v6.19-rc7 should theoretically be released as a stable version this Sunday, but the kernel community chose to add another v6.19-rc8 to obtain a more sufficient test buffer during the holiday period. According to this adjustment, the stable version of Linux 6.19 is expected to be released on February 8, which will further compress the subsequent Linux 6.20/7.0 cycle and create a time squeeze with the planned release time of Ubuntu 26.04.
According to current calculations, if rc8 is no longer needed in the next cycle, Linux 6.20/7.0 is expected to release the stable version on April 12; however, if a candidate version is also added in the next cycle, the stable version will be postponed to April 19. That would be later than a key milestone for Ubuntu 26.04: its final freeze date is set for April 16, and the official kernel freeze is even earlier, at April 9. In other words, in the best case, the buffer left for the Ubuntu team to integrate and verify between the stable version of the kernel and the kernel freeze is extremely limited; and in the case of "one more rc", the official kernel release will even be later than after Ubuntu is finally frozen.
Despite such a tight schedule, Canonical kernel team member Kleber Souza confirmed in the latest note that they insist on delivering this latest kernel branch to users in the April release of Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. He said that under the current reality of "collision" between the Ubuntu kernel rhythm and the upstream mainline rhythm, the team is prepared to adopt a similar approach to the Ubuntu 25.10 "Questing Quokka" version: after the official kernel is frozen, continue to rebase based on the upstream RC and the final stable version, and deliver the final non-RC stable kernel to users as soon as possible through a "Day-0 SRU" (0th day stable update).
Souza explained that the goal of this "Day-0 SRU" is to complete the push before the regular SRU rhythm starts, so that users can get the true final version of the mainline kernel as soon as possible after the official image of 26.04 is released, instead of staying on the candidate version for a long time. However, due to the uncertainty of upstream rhythm and stability, Canonical is currently unable to promise a specific arrival date for this update. It can only guarantee that it will be pushed as soon as possible after the final release of 26.04. More technical details about the plan and the Ubuntu 26.04 “Resolute Raccoon” kernel timeline have been made public via Ubuntu Discourse.