On April 15, 2026, the development of the Linux 7.1 kernel reached a significant milestone as Linus Torvalds officially initiated the process of removing support for Intel 486 CPUs. This involved deleting Kconfig options such as M486, M486SX, and ELAN, preventing developers from building the Linux 7.1 kernel and subsequent versions for Intel 486 and its compatible processors. The adjustment has a broad impact, covering AMD, Cyrix, and IBM's 486DX, DX2, and DX4 series, as well as processor models like UMC U5S and U5D. For users still utilizing i486 hardware, the Linux 6.18 LTS version offers a transitional solution, with maintenance updates continuing for the next few years. Meanwhile, the Linux 7.1 kernel has also begun removing platform and driver code designed to support Russian Baikal processors. Baikal was once considered Russia's primary alternative to Intel and AMD chips, with its architectural design undergoing multiple transformations—shifting from the initial Arm architecture to MIPS, and then reverting back to an ARM-based design years later.