As we have been able to know, the support of Linux kernels that are LTS, that is, "Long Term Support", will have a much longer support. Specifically, this support will last for about 6 years from version 4.14, which will be released soon, although somewhat delayed with respect to the expected deadlines (it is expected to be released in November).
Undoubtedly, this news surprises, since it has multiplied by three the previous support that the LTS versions of the Kernel had. To date, the support was two years, an amount that although it was sufficient for some users, for others not so much.
The reason this has been done, is stability, Since in this way, users who want to can maintain the same LTS Kernel for 6 long years, without having to update or change version if they do not want to. By having support, people who have not updated, will have nothing to fear security flaws or running out of updates, since they will be guaranteed for 6 years.
The other big reason has to do with Android phones, which as you already know, carry Linux Kernel. Due to the great fragmentation of versions and the lack of interest of the manufacturers to offer support to old phones, many of them have been left with outdated, unsupported and therefore vulnerable kernel versions.
Esto It will be made patent from version 8 of Android, also known as Android Oreo. This version will feature a long-lasting LTS Kernel with improved support from Google, available for all devices that have this version of Android.
Thus, Kernel 4.14 LTS will be supported until the end of 2023, so it will undoubtedly be the best option for many users. Remember that 4 to 6 new versions of the Kernel are released per year, but only one of them is LTS, so updating to version 4.14 LTS when it is stable will undoubtedly be a great idea.