Realtek rtl8723bs Driver Deleted From Staging Area In Linux 7.4
Curated from Phoronix
The removal of the Realtek rtl8723bs driver from the staging area is a significant signal for anyone managing mixed-hardware fleets. This chip has long been a source of frustration, often requiring out-of-tree patches or unstable staging drivers that broke with every minor kernel update. Its integration into the mature RTW88 framework within the mainline networking subsystem marks a shift from experimental maintenance to standard support. For SREs and system administrators, this means you can now rely on standard kernel updates without the usual risk of breaking Wi-Fi connectivity on laptops or thin clients equipped with this common hardware. The long tail of community maintenance has finally converged into a maintainable, upstream solution. Ensure your package management and kernel upgrade policies treat this specific hardware change as a green light for standard deployments, as the previous need for custom driver workarounds is now obsolete for most distributions.
After nearly a decade in the Linux kernel's staging area and being worked on by many different kernel developer newcomers, the Realtek rtl8723bs was deleted from the staging area. This comes as Realtek rtl8723bs was added onto the more mature RTW88 driver in the Linux networking subsystem...
— Phoronix