Linux 7.4 to Bring HDMI 2.1 for Radeon by Default and Apple M4 Support

⚡ The Gist in 5 Seconds - The Linux 7.3 kernel is expected to ship as a stable release as early as today, followed by the opening of the merge window for Linux 7.4. - Linux 7.4 is slated to include HDMI 2.1 enabled by default on Radeon, AMD performance optimizations (PerfOpt), and Apple M4 support. - This is still a preview of the patch set: the full list of changes is being shaped as pull requests are accepted during the merge window. ### 🔍 What Was Found Phoronix has published a preview of what will land in Linux 7.4. According to the outlet, Linux 7.3 is expected to be released as stable within a day, bringing a large set of changes into the mainline branch along with it. Right after that, the merge window for Linux 7.4 opens, and three key items are already being highlighted: HDMI 2.1 enabled by default for Radeon graphics cards, AMD performance optimizations (referred to as AMD PerfOpt in the article), and Apple M4 support. No specific technical details are provided in the preview: no particular GPU models, firmware versions, instruction sets, or kernel patches are mentioned. The article outlines the general composition of the upcoming release, so the exact wording of the changes will become clear as the patches pass through the merge window and in subsequent reviews. ### 💡 Why It Matters For Linux users, this is three different scenarios in one release: HDMI 2.1 by default spares Radeon owners from having to enable support manually, AMD optimizations boost overall platform performance, and Apple M4 support expands the list of supported hardware — which is critical for projects like Asahi Linux. This is still a preview, not the final lineup: which of the patches make it into stable Linux 7.4 unchanged will become clear once the merge window closes.

🔗 Read on www.phoronix.com