What's new in Java 26

Java keeps evolving! Java 26 is out. The release brings many features aimed at optimizing Java applications and drops support for applets. We cover all of this and more below. Currently, Java ships a new version every six months. The last release was Java 25 in September 2025, so March 2026 meant it was time for Java 26. Java 25 was an LTS release; this version, however, isn't designed for long-term support. The new version didn't add as many features as the previous one, but it brought importan