Although Kernel 4.8 was released very recently, Linus Torvalds and his team have already begun working on the next version , version 4.9. Proof of this is that the first release candidate has already been released.
Version 4.9 will be an LTS release , meaning it will be a larger version than usual with longer-lasting support and greater stability. The first Release Candidate (RC) is just the first step in the development of Kernel 4.9 , as eight RC versions are expected to be released if everything goes as planned.
For now, being the first Release Candidate, there aren't many new features, just software updates for certain architectures like ARM and some performance improvements , as well as updates to file systems like NFS. However, as I said before, this is just the beginning.
The expected release date is December 11, 2016, undoubtedly an early Christmas present to end the year in the best possible way. As always, this date is subject to change, for example, if last-minute bugs are discovered or if there are any setbacks during development.
This version is highly anticipated, as LTS versions are the preferred release for most distributions. The reason for this is stability; it's preferable to install a version with support lasting for years rather than one with support lasting only a few months. It's also the preferred kernel for LTS versions of operating systems like Ubuntu.
If you want to try it and compile it on your distribution, you can do so through the official kernel.org website , under the mainline tab . However, be aware that this version is not yet stable and is not safe for use in development environments.