According to the latest update released by the Raspberry Pi engineering team, the first new version of the Raspberry Pi OS since April is now available and completes the upgrade to the Linux 6.18 LTS kernel. Previously, Raspberry Pi OS has been using Linux 6.12 LTS. This version number is "Raspberry Pi OS 2026-06-18" and has been switched to Linux 6.18.34 LTS. This kernel series will be launched in 2025 and is the latest long-term support branch.
This is followed by a large number of performance optimizations, new drivers, and other kernel feature improvements that have been introduced over the past year, which are expected to bring a better overall experience to the Raspberry Pi platform.
In terms of graphics stack, the Wayland compositor LabWC used by Raspberry Pi OS has been upgraded to version 0.9.7 in this update, introducing a series of improvements for the desktop experience. The system also includes other software package updates, new icon resources, a new default touch screen association configuration, and several detailed optimizations to improve interaction consistency and ease of use. In addition, this version also integrates the latest Raspberry Pi device firmware to provide more complete support for recent hardware.
Currently, the latest Raspberry Pi OS system image can be downloaded from the Raspberry Pi official website:
https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/operating-systems/
Users can choose a new installation or upgrade through an existing system according to their own needs to obtain the above improvements in kernel and desktop environment.
