The first official version of the Linux 6.9 kernel has been released, with the merge window for version 6.10 about to open. The new version brings improvements such as support for AMD P-State preferred core feature, Intel P-State EPP default value adjustment for optimized Core Ultra processor performance, support for Intel FRED (Flexible Return and Event Delivery), updates to the AMDGPU graphics driver, LoongArch architecture support for more kernel features, removal of old NTFS driver, core networking updates, KVM virtual machine optimization, larger console font for high-resolution (4K) displays, driver updates for new hardware, and support for new hardware including Intel RAPL driver support for Lunar Lake M and Arrow Lake processors, clock controller support for Qualcomm Snapdragon X1 E80100, network SoC support for MediaTek MT7981B Filogic 820 and MT7988A Filogic 880, and mainline kernel support for ten Chromebooks using the MediaTek MT8186 processor. Version 6.9-rc1 was released with Linus noting that it looks like a pretty normal version with significant rewrites to the timer subsystem for improved performance, especially for networking. Linus also mentioned having a more powerful Arm64 device from Ampere, resulting in almost equal number of Arm64 builds as x86-64 during the last week, with ongoing support in future merge windows. The previous M2 MacBook Air was more like weekly testing in comparison. Linus expressed his expectation for broader coverage in testing to ensure better quality. The original email from Linus Torvalds is attached for reference.