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Both kernels seems to include latest drivers, but I can't find why both are needed or what are their differences. It's confusing!

muru
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Fer B.
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1 Answers1

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An OEM kernel is created by Canonical engineers for specific brand-new hardware that is not yet supported by the (mainline) generic Linux kernel that everybody else uses. OEM is a short-term kernel; users will migrate to the generic Linux kernel when support for that new hardware becomes available.

A HWE kernel is used only on LTS releases of Ubuntu. It's simply a newer generic kernel. In fact, it's often the same generic kernel used in the current interim release of Ubuntu. Example: The current HWE kernel for 20.04 is the same kernel used in 21.04.

user535733
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    Do the OEM kernels include the packages that are put out by hardware manufacturers? A common example would be Lenovo's various Sutton packages, [like this one](https://packages.ubuntu.com/focal-updates/oem-sutton.newell-aelfwine-meta) – matigo Jan 04 '22 at 14:40