Linux 7.3 Ships with Time Machine Support and Reworked CPU Scheduler
The release pushes two jobs deeper into the kernel itself: Mac backups over ksmbd and file access sandboxing through failfs and fchroot(), which removes the need to bolt those functions on outside the kernel.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
Linus Torvalds released Linux 7.3 on October 18, 2026. The kernel's in-kernel file server ksmbd now supports Apple's Time Machine backups over the network with the feature enabled in settings. CPU scheduling on many-core servers is reworked, sched_ext gains per-group allocation methods, and a new failfs file system with the fchroot() system call limits programs to pre-approved files. Btrfs and ext4 read/write performance improves, and ntfs3 adds alternate data streams.
The ksmbd change matters because the backup path no longer needs Samba running alongside the kernel server. Time Machine support has to be switched on in settings, so an upgrade alone will not turn it on for existing shares.
The scheduler work points the other way, toward scale. Allocation methods in sched_ext can now differ by group, and virtual machines get a mechanism that tracks frequently used memory areas so usage can be read in more detail. Graphics changes include improved memory management on GPUs with little video memory and better game performance in some GPU environments, and the kernel adds preparation for AMD's Zen 6 architecture.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.