The new kernel arrives just months after Linux 7.0 debuted with major networking and filesystem changes. Version 7.1 continues the trend of tightening Linux's hardware focus while improving performance and security.

The headline change for most people in Linux 7.1 is its new native NTFS driver. Many Linux users, whether they like it or not, must deal with Microsoft file systems, and that's where this driver comes in. It replaces both the old, dusty NTFS‑3G FUSE driver in many setups and the Paragon‑contributed NTFS3 kernel driver that has had a bumpy history with data‑corruption reports. Indeed, Torvalds himself calls this new driver an "NTFS resurrection."

The new code is built on Linux's contemporary filesystem infrastructure, using iomap and folios instead of older buffer_head‑centric paths. The new and improved NTFS support was designed from the outset for robust read‑write support, better error handling, and more predictable behavior under heavy parallel I/O.

According to the new NTFS developer, Namjae Jeon, while the new NTFS driver shows only modest single‑threaded write gains, its improvements are far more impressive when multiple threads pound on the same NTFS volume. There, multi‑threaded writes can be 35–110% faster than earlier drivers, while mounting a 4TB NTFS volume is reported to be roughly four times faster.