Clem Lefebvre has already published the August Linux Mint release note , which covers the events of July 2026. The first thing he mentions is the release of new HWE (Hardware Enablement) ISO images , meaning they feature a more modern kernel that will better support the latest hardware. The kernel used in these ISOs is Linux 7.0 , which has been available since last April.
Kernel management has been removed from the update manager and reimplemented within the system administration tool (see header screenshot). This implementation supports both Linux Mint and LMDE, and focuses on kernel series rather than individual kernels.
Linux Mint and the new way of managing the kernel
The new kernel management tool is very easy to use, and will be even simpler for users who have already tried Mainline Kernels (available in Ubuntu, formerly known as Ukuu) or other native tools like those offered by distributions such as Manjaro or CachyOS. Essentially, it provides a list of available kernel branches, allowing you to install one or another.
For example, if you choose 6.18, that version will be installed and that branch will always be updated. If you choose the latest stable version, the same will happen, but for, in this case, Linux 7.0 (which is the latest version available in the Ubuntu repositories).
The tool also allows the removal of old kernel versions , so we won't have to worry about having more than we need or about the space it occupies.
other developments
The kernel update is undoubtedly the most interesting, but this month's update also mentions that the administration tool has received a new page dedicated to environment variables. The variables defined on this page are configured system-wide for all user sessions.
Furthermore, Cinnamon has received support for Fcitx5 with full Wayland/X11 support. If Fcitx5 is selected in the input methods, Cinnamon will no longer launch ibus-daemon, but will instead use a different internal manager.
Finally, interacting with the panel while working in full-screen windows feels much more natural than before.
It's worth remembering that the project has decided to release only one version of Linux Mint per year, which makes kernel management and HWE images like the ones they just released even more important.