The upcoming Ubuntu 26.10, codenamed Stonking Stingray, shows performance improvements for systems powered by AMD Ryzen AI Max+ Strix Halo processors. Testing compared the new daily ISO release from September 16 against the existing Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
Benchmarks were conducted on hardware including the Framework Desktop equipped with the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 SoC and Radeon 8060S graphics. The results indicate that Ubuntu 26.10 provides better overall performance and power efficiency for these configurations.
The testing also evaluated the experimental amd64v3 packages for x86_64-v3 architectures. Utilizing these packages on Ubuntu 26.10 resulted in additional performance gains compared to the standard generic amd64 package builds.
The release is expected to support various devices, such as the Framework Desktop, Ryzen AI Halo systems, and the HP ZBook Ultra G1a. Ubuntu 26.10 is scheduled for a beta release next week.
