Earlier this month, the team behind Linux Mint released Linux Mint 21.3 for download after about one month of beta testing. Unfortunately, it included an older Long Term Support kernel which doesn’t support some newer hardware; the new Edge ISO should overcome this problem.
The main Mint release includes Linux 5.15 but the new Edge edition includes Linux 6.5. Linux 5.15 has been available since October 2021, while it has received security patches since, added hardware support has not been added, therefore, people with newer hardware need to run a newer kernel like the one offered in Edge.
One caveat that the team mentioned in the Linux Mint user guide is that the Edge edition may not be as stable as the other ISOs and may not support as many proprietary drivers. It recommends that you should only use the Edge ISO if you can’t boot or install Mint with the other ISOs.
Linux Mint 21.3 was first released on January 12 after more than a month of beta testing. Due to the long testing period, upgrades were opened up on launch day too.
The Edge ISOs that have just been released have been undergoing testing for quite a while now and the first ISO that was tested even failed the tests causing the team to run a second round of tests which subsequently passed.
Unlike the Debian-based LMDE, this Edge version of Mint is still based on Ubuntu - it’s actually comparable to the hardware enablement releases Canonical pushes for Ubuntu. As it’s based on Ubuntu, it will receive updates until 2027 just like the other Mint 21.x versions.
Linux Mint 21.3 includes various upgrades including full support for secure boot and better compatibility with more BIOS and EFI implementations, Hypnotic improvements, and Cinnamon 6.0 which is packed with new features.
To get Linux Mint 21.3 Edge or any other versions, just head to the Linux Mint website and browse the downloads.
Source: Linux Mint