Oracle said on the 18th that it has released the latest Java version, Java 26 (Oracle JDK 26), and unveiled a new Java certification portfolio (JVP) to expand support for the Java ecosystem.
Java 26 includes thousands of improvements focused on boosting developer productivity, simplifying the language, and integrating AI and cryptography features. Oracle also said it will provide commercial support for the Java-based UI framework JavaFX and the microservices framework Helidon through JVP.
This release includes a total of 10 major JDK enhancement proposals (JEPs). Highlights include language features that reduce primitive-type constraints in pattern matching and switch statements, performance improvements that increase throughput for the G1 garbage collector, AOT object caching to shorten application startup time, HTTP/3 support, structured concurrency, and the Vector API. Oracle said these enable more efficient implementation of a wide range of enterprise workloads, including AI inference, Cloud-Native, data analytics, and security processing.
On the security side, additions include PEM encoding for cryptographic objects, hybrid public key encryption (HPKE), and JAR signing with Quantum Computing in mind. By contrast, the Applet API, already designated for removal in JDK 17, has been completely deleted in this version.
Oracle is also reintroducing commercial support for JavaFX. It will provide five years of premier support for the latest Java version and long-term support (LTS) versions, and support for JavaFX for JDK 8 will be extended through Mar. 2028. In addition, the release cadence for Helidon will be aligned with Java, and Oracle plans to propose it as an OpenJDK project in the future.
Oracle plans to unveil details related to Java 26 at JavaOne 2026, held from Feb. 17 to 19 in Redwood Shores, California.