openSUSE Prepares For openSUSE Leap 16 Next Year Based On ALP

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but openSUSE today reaffirmed that openSUSE Leap 16 will succeed the current Leap 15 series. OpenSUSE Leap 16 will be based on SUSE's Adaptable Linux Platform (ALP) codebase.

OpenSUSE announced today that a "clear course is set" for openSUSE Leap with openSUSE Leap 16 to succeed Leap 15.6:

"Based on SUSE’s new Adaptable Linux Platform (ALP) codebase, openSUSE Leap 16 will combine the benefits of an advanced enterprise server distribution and user-friendly maintenance and security that is a hallmark of the Leap series.

Leap 16 is aiming to strike a balance between a cutting-edge and a traditional Linux operating system emerging from SUSE’s development of ALP and initiatives to effectively integrate community packages.

The transition to Leap 16 is not just a numerical step-up but symbolizes a significant path forward in technology and user experiences. The future of openSUSE Leap is based on the innovative concept of SUSE’s Adaptable Linux Platform."

SUSE has been working on the Adaptable Linux Platform the past few years for their next-gen OS. OpenSUSE Leap 15.6 itself was added to allow more time for baking ALP. With today's announcement is basically confirmation that their ALP-based Leap spin will be called Leap 16. Pretty predictable aside from in the past where there were cases like Leap 15 succeeding Leap 42.3.

The current openSUSE roadmap page has Leap 15.6 due for release in June. The openSUSE Leap 16.0 release is currently estimated to happen in 2025. Thus will be going head-to-head with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 next year if all goes well.