It's snapshotted from Arch, once a year they bump the kernel and include "updated Arch Linux base" as a release note.

SteamOS 3.7 is still on Kernel 6.11 and KDE Plasma 6.2, for example. Bazzite is 6.17 and Plasma 6.5.

This matters if you're using more recent hardware or want the latest driver optimizations. My 9070 XT is supported by Bazzite, SteamOS won't even boot.

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UK-Al05 4 hours ago | parent [-]

I think that's changed recently. Recent release notes state it's added support for RDNA4

	▲	tapoxi 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		VKD3D-Proton gained FSR4 support and will ship in a future release of Proton, but RDNA4 requires a newer kernel. SteamOS release notes are public at https://www.steamdeck.com/en/news, it still uses a 6.11 kernel from September 2024.