Device makers have an obligation to release kernel sources of their devices in a timely manner. In this regard, some device makers have an admirable track record, while others don't. At XDA, we have urged device makers to release kernel sources in their timely manner to fulfill the legal requirements of the GPLv2 license. One such device maker that has had longstanding issues with kernel sources has been Xiaomi.
Xiaomi has a reputation for either releasing kernel sources for their devices in a delayed manner, or not releasing them at all. The company has still not released the kernel source code for many of its recent devices. Notably, kernel sources for the Xiaomi Mi A1 were released in January, four months after its release. This was after XDA and other outlets urged the company to release the kernel sources. The unavailability of kernel sources had an adverse impact on development for the Xiaomi Mi A1 (coupled with the presence of the A/B partition system in the device). The Mi A1 went on to receive its Android Oreo-based kernel source code in March.
Moving on, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro (code-name: whyred) was released in India in February. It was released in China as the Redmi Note 5 last month (not to be confused with the Indian Redmi Note 5/Chinese Redmi 5 Plus). The Redmi Note 5 Pro has already received official TWRP support. An unofficial LineageOS 15.1 (based on Android 8.1 Oreo) ROM with a pre-built kernel is also available for the device, despite the fact that kernel sources haven't been available up until now.
Now, Xiaomi has released kernel sources based on the Android 7.1 Nougat release for the device. The Indian Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro hasn't received its Android 8.1 Oreo update yet, but a leaked Android Oreo-based MIUI Global ROM is available. The time gap between the release of the device and release of kernel sources was less than two months. The time gap is not ideal, but it's much better than the delayed kernel source code release for the Mi A1. We hope that Xiaomi can improve the speed of releasing kernel sources. We also urge the company to release the kernel source code for other devices.
Interested users can download the kernel source code via the source link.