On June 18, 2026, the Raspberry Pi Foundation released a new version of Raspberry Pi OS with its most meaningful kernel update in months: a jump to Linux 6.18.34 LTS. The previous build was running on Linux 6.12 LTS — functional, but a release that debuted in late 2024. The 6.18 series brings ARM scheduling improvements, reduced interrupt latency, and networking stack refinements that translate into a measurably snappier experience on any Pi.
What changed in the kernel
The 6.18 LTS kernel introduces more aggressive ARM-specific scheduling heuristics: the CPU is better at prioritizing work on multi-core boards like the Pi 4 and Pi 5. Interrupt latency — the gap between a hardware event and the processor responding — is reduced. USB and networking drivers have been refreshed. For anyone running a Pi as a home server, NAS, or media center, these improvements are the kind that make task switching less sluggish under real load rather than benchmark conditions.
Desktop and UI polish
Beyond the kernel, this release updates the Wayland compositor Labwc to version 0.9.7 and refreshes app icons across LibreOffice, Geany, Xarchiver, and Eye of MATE. Touch screen support gets a dedicated improvement: larger icons in lxpanel and new default touchscreen settings make Raspberry Pi OS noticeably more usable on capacitive displays. That matters for the growing number of DIY kiosk and embedded projects that attach a touch screen.
Seven desktop utilities — including the shutdown dialog and the cloning tool piclone — now use DBus to prevent double-launch bugs. Printer plugin lockups and audio device selection issues have been fixed. Polish language support has been added.
The Flask removal
The quieter change worth noting: python3-flask has been removed from the default installation. It was included as a dependency for a bundled app that no longer needs it. This reduces the base image footprint slightly and eliminates an unnecessary package from the default update surface. If your project uses Flask, you will need to install it manually going forward — but for the vast majority of users, this change is invisible.
How to update
The update covers the full supported hardware range: Raspberry Pi 3B through Pi 5, all Compute Modules, and the Zero 2 W. Run sudo apt full-upgrade from the terminal, or grab a fresh image from the Raspberry Pi website. There are no breaking changes. The kernel jump alone makes this worth installing.