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Java 26 Features
Java 26: March 17, 2026 and includes 10 JEPs. The feature set is frozen.
JEP 500: Prepare to Make Final Mean Final
Stage: Closed / Delivered
Link: https://openjdk.org/jeps/500
JEP 504: Remove the Applet API
Stage: Closed / Delivered
Link: https://openjdk.org/jeps/504
Description: Removes the entire java.applet package plus related classes like javax.swing.JApplet and java.beans.AppletInitializer.
JEP 516: Ahead-of-Time Object Caching with Any GC
Stage: Closed / Delivered
Link: https://openjdk.org/jeps/516
Description: Extends the AOT cache to work with any garbage collector (including ZGC) by introducing a GC-agnostic storage format that uses logical indices instead of memory addresses.
JEP 517: HTTP/3 for the HTTP Client API
Stage: Closed / Delivered
Link: https://openjdk.org/jeps/517
Description: Adds HTTP/3 (QUIC-based) support to java.net.http.HttpClient, with opt-in via HttpClient or HttpRequest configuration and automatic fallback to HTTP/2 or HTTP/1.1.
JEP 522: G1 GC: Improve Throughput by Reducing Synchronization
Stage: Closed / Delivered
Link: https://openjdk.org/jeps/522
Description: Introduces a dual card-table system for G1 that eliminates synchronization between application and GC optimizer threads, reducing write barriers from ~50 instructions to ~12 on x64.
JEP 524: PEM Encodings of Cryptographic Objects (Second Preview)
Stage: Closed / Delivered
Link: https://openjdk.org/jeps/524
Description: Provides PEMEncoder, PEMDecoder, and PEM record in java.security for converting keys, certificates, and CRLs to/from PEM format, with encryption support.
JEP 525: Structured Concurrency (Sixth Preview)
Stage: Closed / Delivered
Link: https://openjdk.org/jeps/525
Description: Provides StructuredTaskScope to treat groups of related concurrent tasks as a single unit of work with lexically-scoped lifetime, automatic cancellation, and clear error propagation.
JEP 526: Lazy Constants (Second Preview)
Stage: Closed / Delivered
Link: https://openjdk.org/jeps/526
Description: Introduces LazyConstant for thread-safe, at-most-once deferred initialization of immutable values, plus List.ofLazy() and Map.ofLazy() factory methods.
JEP 529: Vector API (Eleventh Incubator)
Stage: Closed / Delivered
Link: https://openjdk.org/jeps/529
Description: Continues incubation of the API for expressing vector computations that reliably compile to optimal SIMD instructions on x64 and AArch64 architectures.
JEP 530: Primitive Types in Patterns, instanceof, and switch (Fourth Preview)
Stage: Closed / Delivered
Link: https://openjdk.org/jeps/530
Description: Extends pattern matching, instanceof, and switch to support all primitive types — enabling i instanceof byte b, switching on long/float/double/boolean, and narrowing conversions in record patterns.