Will be the default kernel of Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS is still powered by the long-term supported Linux 4.4 kernel series, but when the Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS point release was announced back in mid-February, four months after the release of Ubuntu 16.10 (Yakkety Yak) , users were giving the possibility of installing the newer Linux 4.8 kernel of Ubuntu 16.10.
But now that Ubuntu 16.10 reached end of life on July 20,2017, it’s not safe to run its Linux 4.8 kernel anymore, as Canonical won’t provide security updates for it, so they’re now allowing Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS users to install the much newer Linux 4.10 kernel from the Ubuntu 17.04 (Zesty Zapus) release.
Canonical said a while ago that the next point release of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) would get updated HWE kernel and graphics stacks based on those from Ubuntu 17.04, the most advanced version of the operating system, and it looks like Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS will be shipping with Linux kernel 4.10 by default.
Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS is currently scheduled to land on August 3,2017, and while you’ll be able to continue using the long-term supported Linux 4.4 kernel series, you can now install Linux kernel 4.10 as well if you need it for your hardware. In fact, you don’t even have to wait for Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS to launch, as you can install the HWE kernel now.
“This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 17.04 for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, ” said Canonical in the security advisory . “Please note that this update changes the Linux HWE kernel to the 4.10 based kernel from Ubuntu 17.04, superseding the 4.8 based HWE kernel from Ubuntu 16.10.”
