JDK 26 and JDK 27: What We Know So Far

"JDK 26, the first non-LTS release since JDK 25, has reached its second release candidate as declared by Mark Reinhold, Chief Architect, Java Platform Group at Oracle. The main-line source repository, forked to the JDK stabilization repository in early-December 2025 (Rampdown Phase One), defines the feature set for JDK 26. Critical bugs, such as regressions or serious functionality issues, may be addressed, but must be approved via the Fix-Request process. As per the release schedule, JDK 26 will be formally released on March 17, 2026."

"We examine some of these new features and include where they fall under the auspices of the major Java projects - Amber, Loom, Panama, Valhalla and Leyden - designed to incubate a series of components for eventual inclusion in the JDK through a curated merge."

"JEP 530, Primitive Types in Patterns, instanceof, and switch (Fourth Preview), proposes a fourth preview, with two changes, after three rounds of preview delivered in JDK 25 through JDK 23. The changes include: enhance the definition of unconditional exactness; and the application of tighter dominance checks in switch constructs."

JDK 26 has reached its second release candidate with the stabilization repository forked in early December 2025 and a formal release scheduled for March 17, 2026. Only critical regressions or serious functionality issues may be fixed under the Fix-Request process. The final feature set comprises ten JEPs organized into five categories: five Core Java Library, two HotSpot, one Java Language Specification, one Security Library, and one Client Library feature. Major incubator projects include Amber, Loom, Panama, Valhalla, and Leyden. Notable JEPs include JEP 530 (fourth preview for primitive types in patterns, instanceof, and switch) and JEP 525 (sixth preview of structured concurrency).

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