diff --git a/bin/omarchy-update-restart b/bin/omarchy-update-restart
index 2f9a93cb..4501212b 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-update-restart
+++ b/bin/omarchy-update-restart
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-if [ "$(uname -r | sed 's/-arch/\.arch/')" != "$(pacman -Q linux | awk '{print $2}')" ]; then
-  gum confirm "New Linux kernel requires reboot. Ready?" && omarchy-state clear re*-required && sudo reboot now
+# Check for kernel package updates since last boot
+boot_time=$(date -d "$(uptime -s)" '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')
+recent_kernel_updates=$(awk -v boot_time="$boot_time" '$0 >="["boot_time' /var/log/pacman.log | grep -E "\[ALPM\] (upgraded|installed) (linux|linux-zen|linux-lts|linux-hardened)\b" || true)
+if [ -n "$recent_kernel_updates" ]; then
+  gum confirm "Linux kernel has been updated. Reboot?" && omarchy-state clear re*-required && sudo reboot now
+
 elif [ -f "$HOME/.local/state/omarchy/reboot-required" ]; then
   gum confirm "Updates require reboot. Ready?" && omarchy-state clear re*-required && sudo reboot now
+
 elif [ -f "$HOME/.local/state/omarchy/relaunch-required" ]; then
   gum confirm "Updates require Hyprland relaunch. Ready?" && omarchy-state clear re*-required && uwsm stop
 fi