On April 13, 2022, the Linux kernel version 5.16 was marked EOL (End of Life), and it no longer receives updates such as security patches, feature fixes, etc. from the kernel developers.
Developer Greg Kroah-Hartman released the last maintenance release of Linux 5.16: Linux 5.16.20, and announced in the mail that Linux 5.16 has become a thing of the past, recommending users to upgrade to Linux 5.17:
"Note, this is the last 5.16.y kernel release, the 5.16 release is EOL, please move to the 5.17.y branch,"
Linux 5.16 , released three months ago, brings a variety of new features, such as
- Combined with improved zstd, the performance is greatly improved
- Mainline support for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4
- Supports live migration within AMD SEV/SEV-ES host
- Enables better USB low-latency audio playback
But it's still a non-LTS release with only three months of support. If users are using a GNU/Linux distribution powered by the Linux 5.16 kernel, it is recommended to upgrade to Linux 5.17 , but Linux 5.17 is also non-LTS and will EOL at the end of June.
If you don't want to upgrade every three months, then it is recommended to use the latest LTS version: Linux kernel 5.15 .