The openSUSE Developers summarized plans for a future release of openSUSE 15.3, which intend to form a set of binary packages based on the same set of binary packages as SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP. Past releases of openSUSE Leap 15 were formed by rebuilding a set of SUSE Linux Enterprise src packages, but openSUSE 15.3 is slated to ship unchanged binaries from SUSE Linux Enterprise SP3, which will allow for full compatibility of distributions and simplify migration from one distribution to another.
openSUSE will develop with a maintenance cycle close to SUSE Linux Enterprise – once every 3-4 years a significant release will be formed (for example, openSUSE Leap 15), after which interim releases will be published once a year (for example, openSUSE Leap 15.3), which will include package updates synchronized with new SUSE Linux Enterprise SP releases while maintaining a common base system set. Interim releases will be supported for 18 months and, unlike the mandatory current package updates, they will be installed at the user’s request.