diff --git a/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-name-template.txt b/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-name-template.txt
index 229ffe20f..88408e57a 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-name-template.txt
+++ b/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-name-template.txt
@@ -42,8 +42,8 @@ metadata:
     helm.sh/chart: "subchart1-0.1.0"
     app.kubernetes.io/instance: "foobar-YWJj-baz"
     kube-version/major: "1"
-    kube-version/minor: "9"
-    kube-version/gitversion: "v1.9.0"
+    kube-version/minor: "14"
+    kube-version/version: "v1.14.0"
 spec:
   type: ClusterIP
   ports:
diff --git a/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-set.txt b/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-set.txt
index fec32bcae..2bbeb5e0d 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-set.txt
+++ b/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-set.txt
@@ -42,8 +42,8 @@ metadata:
     helm.sh/chart: "subchart1-0.1.0"
     app.kubernetes.io/instance: "RELEASE-NAME"
     kube-version/major: "1"
-    kube-version/minor: "9"
-    kube-version/gitversion: "v1.9.0"
+    kube-version/minor: "14"
+    kube-version/version: "v1.14.0"
 spec:
   type: ClusterIP
   ports:
diff --git a/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-values-files.txt b/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-values-files.txt
index fec32bcae..2bbeb5e0d 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-values-files.txt
+++ b/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template-values-files.txt
@@ -42,8 +42,8 @@ metadata:
     helm.sh/chart: "subchart1-0.1.0"
     app.kubernetes.io/instance: "RELEASE-NAME"
     kube-version/major: "1"
-    kube-version/minor: "9"
-    kube-version/gitversion: "v1.9.0"
+    kube-version/minor: "14"
+    kube-version/version: "v1.14.0"
 spec:
   type: ClusterIP
   ports:
diff --git a/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template.txt b/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template.txt
index c0ddca8d8..a8919534c 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template.txt
+++ b/cmd/helm/testdata/output/template.txt
@@ -42,8 +42,8 @@ metadata:
     helm.sh/chart: "subchart1-0.1.0"
     app.kubernetes.io/instance: "RELEASE-NAME"
     kube-version/major: "1"
-    kube-version/minor: "9"
-    kube-version/gitversion: "v1.9.0"
+    kube-version/minor: "14"
+    kube-version/version: "v1.14.0"
 spec:
   type: ClusterIP
   ports:
diff --git a/docs/chart_template_guide/builtin_objects.md b/docs/chart_template_guide/builtin_objects.md
index 570ea73ce..5d9f42d0b 100644
--- a/docs/chart_template_guide/builtin_objects.md
+++ b/docs/chart_template_guide/builtin_objects.md
@@ -19,7 +19,10 @@ In the previous section, we use `{{.Release.Name}}` to insert the name of a rele
 - `Capabilities`: This provides information about what capabilities the Kubernetes cluster supports.
   - `Capabilities.APIVersions` is a set of versions.
   - `Capabilities.APIVersions.Has $version` indicates whether a version (`batch/v1`) is enabled on the cluster.
-  - `Capabilities.KubeVersion` provides a way to look up the Kubernetes version. It has the following values: `Major`, `Minor`, `GitVersion`, `GitCommit`, `GitTreeState`, `BuildDate`, `GoVersion`, `Compiler`, and `Platform`.
+  - `Capabilities.Kube.Version` is the Kubernetes version.
+  - `Capabilities.Kube` is a short form for Kubernetes version.
+  - `Capabilities.Kube.Major` is the Kubernetes major version.
+  - `Capabilities.Kube.Minor` is the Kubernetes minor version.
 - `Template`: Contains information about the current template that is being executed
   - `Name`: A namespaced filepath to the current template (e.g. `mychart/templates/mytemplate.yaml`)
   - `BasePath`: The namespaced path to the templates directory of the current chart (e.g. `mychart/templates`).
diff --git a/docs/faq.md b/docs/faq.md
index 85bfc5350..bcb5afc7e 100644
--- a/docs/faq.md
+++ b/docs/faq.md
@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ In Helm 2, in order to purge the release ledger, the `--purge` flag had to be pr
 functionality is now enabled by default. To retain the previous behaviour, use
 `helm uninstall --keep-history`.
 
+### Capabilities
+
+Capabilities built-in has been simplified.
+
+[Built-in Objects](chart_template_guide/builtin_objects.md)
 
 ## Installing
 
diff --git a/pkg/action/action.go b/pkg/action/action.go
index 11c3107d4..5fa941964 100644
--- a/pkg/action/action.go
+++ b/pkg/action/action.go
@@ -86,7 +86,6 @@ func (c *Configuration) getCapabilities() (*chartutil.Capabilities, error) {
 	if c.Capabilities != nil {
 		return c.Capabilities, nil
 	}
-
 	dc, err := c.RESTClientGetter.ToDiscoveryClient()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "could not get Kubernetes discovery client")
@@ -95,15 +94,18 @@ func (c *Configuration) getCapabilities() (*chartutil.Capabilities, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "could not get server version from Kubernetes")
 	}
-
 	apiVersions, err := GetVersionSet(dc)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "could not get apiVersions from Kubernetes")
 	}
 
 	c.Capabilities = &chartutil.Capabilities{
-		KubeVersion: kubeVersion,
 		APIVersions: apiVersions,
+		KubeVersion: chartutil.KubeVersion{
+			Version: kubeVersion.GitVersion,
+			Major:   kubeVersion.Major,
+			Minor:   kubeVersion.Minor,
+		},
 	}
 	return c.Capabilities, nil
 }
@@ -144,7 +146,7 @@ func GetVersionSet(client discovery.ServerGroupsInterface) (chartutil.VersionSet
 	}
 
 	versions := metav1.ExtractGroupVersions(groups)
-	return chartutil.NewVersionSet(versions...), nil
+	return chartutil.VersionSet(versions), nil
 }
 
 // recordRelease with an update operation in case reuse has been set.
diff --git a/pkg/action/install.go b/pkg/action/install.go
index 090d650ba..21be22c0d 100644
--- a/pkg/action/install.go
+++ b/pkg/action/install.go
@@ -304,10 +304,8 @@ func (c *Configuration) renderResources(ch *chart.Chart, values chartutil.Values
 	}
 
 	if ch.Metadata.KubeVersion != "" {
-		gitVersion := caps.KubeVersion.String()
-		k8sVersion := strings.Split(gitVersion, "+")[0]
-		if !version.IsCompatibleRange(ch.Metadata.KubeVersion, k8sVersion) {
-			return hs, b, "", errors.Errorf("chart requires kubernetesVersion: %s which is incompatible with Kubernetes %s", ch.Metadata.KubeVersion, k8sVersion)
+		if !version.IsCompatibleRange(ch.Metadata.KubeVersion, caps.KubeVersion.String()) {
+			return hs, b, "", errors.Errorf("chart requires kubernetesVersion: %s which is incompatible with Kubernetes %s", ch.Metadata.KubeVersion, caps.KubeVersion.String())
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/chartutil/capabilities.go b/pkg/chartutil/capabilities.go
index 88d0530b9..a211fbdb3 100644
--- a/pkg/chartutil/capabilities.go
+++ b/pkg/chartutil/capabilities.go
@@ -16,13 +16,6 @@ limitations under the License.
 package chartutil
 
 import (
-	"encoding/json"
-	"fmt"
-	"runtime"
-	"sort"
-
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/version"
-
 	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/scheme"
 )
 
@@ -30,75 +23,60 @@ var (
 	// DefaultVersionSet is the default version set, which includes only Core V1 ("v1").
 	DefaultVersionSet = allKnownVersions()
 
-	// DefaultKubeVersion is the default kubernetes version
-	DefaultKubeVersion = &version.Info{
-		Major:      "1",
-		Minor:      "9",
-		GitVersion: "v1.9.0",
-		GoVersion:  runtime.Version(),
-		Compiler:   runtime.Compiler,
-		Platform:   fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH),
-	}
-
 	// DefaultCapabilities is the default set of capabilities.
 	DefaultCapabilities = &Capabilities{
+		KubeVersion: KubeVersion{
+			Version: "v1.14.0",
+			Major:   "1",
+			Minor:   "14",
+		},
 		APIVersions: DefaultVersionSet,
-		KubeVersion: DefaultKubeVersion,
 	}
 )
 
-// Capabilities describes the capabilities of the Kubernetes cluster that Tiller is attached to.
+// Capabilities describes the capabilities of the Kubernetes cluster.
 type Capabilities struct {
-	// List of all supported API versions
+	// KubeVersion is the Kubernetes version.
+	KubeVersion KubeVersion
+	// APIversions are supported Kubernetes API versions.
 	APIVersions VersionSet
-	// KubeVerison is the Kubernetes version
-	KubeVersion *version.Info
 }
 
-// VersionSet is a set of Kubernetes API versions.
-type VersionSet map[string]struct{}
-
-// NewVersionSet creates a new version set from a list of strings.
-func NewVersionSet(apiVersions ...string) VersionSet {
-	vs := make(VersionSet)
-	for _, v := range apiVersions {
-		vs[v] = struct{}{}
-	}
-	return vs
+// KubeVersion is the Kubernetes version.
+type KubeVersion struct {
+	Version string // Kubernetes version
+	Major   string // Kubernetes major version
+	Minor   string // Kubernetes minor version
 }
 
+// String implements fmt.Stringer
+func (kv *KubeVersion) String() string { return kv.Version }
+
+// GitVersion returns the Kubernetes version string.
+//
+// Deprecated: use KubeVersion.Version.
+func (kv *KubeVersion) GitVersion() string { return kv.Version }
+
+// VersionSet is a set of Kubernetes API versions.
+type VersionSet []string
+
 // Has returns true if the version string is in the set.
 //
 //	vs.Has("apps/v1")
 func (v VersionSet) Has(apiVersion string) bool {
-	_, ok := v[apiVersion]
-	return ok
+	for _, x := range v {
+		if x == apiVersion {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
 }
 
 func allKnownVersions() VersionSet {
-	vs := make(VersionSet)
-	for _, gv := range scheme.Scheme.PrioritizedVersionsAllGroups() {
-		vs[gv.String()] = struct{}{}
+	groups := scheme.Scheme.PrioritizedVersionsAllGroups()
+	vs := make(VersionSet, 0, len(groups))
+	for _, gv := range groups {
+		vs = append(vs, gv.String())
 	}
 	return vs
 }
-
-// MarshalJSON implements the encoding/json.Marshaler interface.
-func (v VersionSet) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
-	out := make([]string, 0, len(v))
-	for i := range v {
-		out = append(out, i)
-	}
-	sort.Strings(out)
-	return json.Marshal(out)
-}
-
-// UnmarshalJSON implements the encoding/json.Unmarshaler interface.
-func (v *VersionSet) UnmarshalJSON(data []byte) error {
-	var vs []string
-	if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &vs); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	*v = NewVersionSet(vs...)
-	return nil
-}
diff --git a/pkg/chartutil/capabilities_test.go b/pkg/chartutil/capabilities_test.go
index fd798ca0d..88dc1bd83 100644
--- a/pkg/chartutil/capabilities_test.go
+++ b/pkg/chartutil/capabilities_test.go
@@ -16,12 +16,11 @@ limitations under the License.
 package chartutil
 
 import (
-	"encoding/json"
 	"testing"
 )
 
 func TestVersionSet(t *testing.T) {
-	vs := NewVersionSet("v1", "apps/v1")
+	vs := VersionSet{"v1", "apps/v1"}
 	if d := len(vs); d != 2 {
 		t.Errorf("Expected 2 versions, got %d", d)
 	}
@@ -41,38 +40,21 @@ func TestDefaultVersionSet(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestCapabilities(t *testing.T) {
-	cap := Capabilities{
-		APIVersions: DefaultVersionSet,
+func TestDefaultCapabilities(t *testing.T) {
+	kv := DefaultCapabilities.KubeVersion
+	if kv.String() != "v1.14.0" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected default KubeVersion.String() to be v1.14.0, got %q", kv.String())
 	}
-
-	if !cap.APIVersions.Has("v1") {
-		t.Error("APIVersions should have v1")
+	if kv.Version != "v1.14.0" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected default KubeVersion.Version to be v1.14.0, got %q", kv.Version)
 	}
-}
-
-func TestCapabilitiesJSONMarshal(t *testing.T) {
-	vs := NewVersionSet("v1", "apps/v1")
-	b, err := json.Marshal(vs)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
+	if kv.GitVersion() != "v1.14.0" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected default KubeVersion.GitVersion() to be v1.14.0, got %q", kv.Version)
 	}
-
-	expect := `["apps/v1","v1"]`
-	if string(b) != expect {
-		t.Fatalf("JSON marshaled semantic version not equal: expected %q, got %q", expect, string(b))
+	if kv.Major != "1" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected default KubeVersion.Major to be 1, got %q", kv.Major)
 	}
-}
-
-func TestCapabilitiesJSONUnmarshal(t *testing.T) {
-	in := `["apps/v1","v1"]`
-
-	var vs VersionSet
-	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(in), &vs); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	if len(vs) != 2 {
-		t.Fatalf("JSON unmarshaled semantic version not equal: expected 2, got %d", len(vs))
+	if kv.Minor != "14" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected default KubeVersion.Minor to be 14, got %q", kv.Minor)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/chartutil/testdata/subpop/charts/subchart1/templates/service.yaml b/pkg/chartutil/testdata/subpop/charts/subchart1/templates/service.yaml
index 0ce52ac43..967e1700f 100644
--- a/pkg/chartutil/testdata/subpop/charts/subchart1/templates/service.yaml
+++ b/pkg/chartutil/testdata/subpop/charts/subchart1/templates/service.yaml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ metadata:
     app.kubernetes.io/instance: "{{ .Release.Name }}"
     kube-version/major: "{{ .Capabilities.KubeVersion.Major }}"
     kube-version/minor: "{{ .Capabilities.KubeVersion.Minor }}"
-    kube-version/gitversion: "v{{ .Capabilities.KubeVersion.Major }}.{{ .Capabilities.KubeVersion.Minor }}.0"
+    kube-version/version: "v{{ .Capabilities.KubeVersion.Major }}.{{ .Capabilities.KubeVersion.Minor }}.0"
 spec:
   type: {{ .Values.service.type }}
   ports:
diff --git a/pkg/chartutil/values.go b/pkg/chartutil/values.go
index 7edc75233..9d4a4fc15 100644
--- a/pkg/chartutil/values.go
+++ b/pkg/chartutil/values.go
@@ -375,6 +375,9 @@ type ReleaseOptions struct {
 //
 // This takes both ReleaseOptions and Capabilities to merge into the render values.
 func ToRenderValues(chrt *chart.Chart, chrtVals map[string]interface{}, options ReleaseOptions, caps *Capabilities) (Values, error) {
+	if caps == nil {
+		caps = DefaultCapabilities
+	}
 	top := map[string]interface{}{
 		"Chart":        chrt.Metadata,
 		"Capabilities": caps,
diff --git a/pkg/chartutil/values_test.go b/pkg/chartutil/values_test.go
index 43aa72189..b5bb76801 100644
--- a/pkg/chartutil/values_test.go
+++ b/pkg/chartutil/values_test.go
@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"text/template"
 
-	kversion "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/version"
-
 	"helm.sh/helm/pkg/chart"
 )
 
@@ -105,12 +103,7 @@ func TestToRenderValues(t *testing.T) {
 		IsInstall: true,
 	}
 
-	caps := &Capabilities{
-		APIVersions: DefaultVersionSet,
-		KubeVersion: &kversion.Info{Major: "1"},
-	}
-
-	res, err := ToRenderValues(c, overideValues, o, caps)
+	res, err := ToRenderValues(c, overideValues, o, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/lint/rules/template.go b/pkg/lint/rules/template.go
index 41a3c7438..ae7a75ca7 100644
--- a/pkg/lint/rules/template.go
+++ b/pkg/lint/rules/template.go
@@ -56,8 +56,7 @@ func Templates(linter *support.Linter, values map[string]interface{}, namespace
 	if err != nil {
 		return
 	}
-	caps := chartutil.DefaultCapabilities
-	valuesToRender, err := chartutil.ToRenderValues(chart, cvals, options, caps)
+	valuesToRender, err := chartutil.ToRenderValues(chart, cvals, options, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		// FIXME: This seems to generate a duplicate, but I can't find where the first
 		// error is coming from.
diff --git a/pkg/releaseutil/manifest_sorter_test.go b/pkg/releaseutil/manifest_sorter_test.go
index fad8caf9f..580b83137 100644
--- a/pkg/releaseutil/manifest_sorter_test.go
+++ b/pkg/releaseutil/manifest_sorter_test.go
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ metadata:
 		manifests[o.path] = o.manifest
 	}
 
-	hs, generic, err := SortManifests(manifests, chartutil.NewVersionSet("v1", "v1beta1"), InstallOrder)
+	hs, generic, err := SortManifests(manifests, chartutil.VersionSet{"v1", "v1beta1"}, InstallOrder)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Unexpected error: %s", err)
 	}