As is customary during its JavaOne conference, Oracle is releasing a new version of Java. Today, it’s all about Java 26. The release includes ten JDK Enhancement Proposals (JEPs) focused on AI integration, cryptography, and developer productivity. At the same time, Oracle is introducing the Java Verified Portfolio, a curated collection of tools, frameworks, and libraries, including JavaFX and Helidon.
Oracle officially releases Java 26 today. Java 26 is a non-LTS (Long-Term Support) release. The previous LTS release was Java 25, which was released in September 2025 and will receive eight years of support.
The new version includes ten JEPs. That is fewer than in Java 25, which contained eighteen JEPs. Oracle says it has been trying to keep the number of JEPs per release relatively limited since adopting the biannual cycle. Before a new version of Java was released every six months, there were sometimes as many as 80–90 JEPs per release. That is no longer the case. This makes the whole process somewhat more manageable for all parties involved. Fewer JEPs does not necessarily mean less impact, however. Java 26 includes several important updates, particularly in the areas of AI and cryptography.
Ten JEPs: from HTTP/3 to post-quantum security
In our view, the most notable additions revolve around security and overall performance. JEP 517 adds HTTP/3 support to the HTTP Client API. This is a concrete improvement for microservices and API-driven applications that require faster and more reliable network connections.
JEP 524 further expands support for PEM-encoded cryptographic objects. The goal of this JEP is to add an API to Java that allows objects to be encoded and decoded in and from the still widely used Privacy-Enhanced Mail (PEM) format. It is a follow-up, a second preview, of what was delivered via JEP 470 in JDK 25.
Looking at the performance component, JEP 522 stands out. It aims to reduce synchronization between application and garbage collector threads in the G1 GC. This results in higher throughput, which is always good news for developers. JEP 516 is also a must-mention when it comes to performance improvements. This JEP is part of Project Leyden and speeds up the startup time of Java applications by pre-initializing and caching objects.
Anyone who has read Azul’s 2026 State of Java Survey (or our story about it) knows that 62 percent of Java professionals now use the language for AI development. Java 26 addresses this with improvements to the Vector API (JEP 529, now in its eleventh incubation round) and Structured Concurrency (JEP 525). Lazy Constants (JEP 526) are also getting a second preview, with the goal of faster startup times for AI- and data-driven applications.
Java Verified Portfolio
In addition to the technical updates, Oracle is introducing the Java Verified Portfolio (JVP). This is a curated collection of enterprise-grade tools, frameworks, and libraries that Oracle commercially supports. Georges Saab, SVP of the Oracle Java Platform, states: “With the introduction of JVP, developers can streamline their projects with a trusted collection of Oracle-supported tools, including Helidon.”
Helidon, an open-source Java framework for microservices and AI applications, is also included in JVP. Oracle plans to synchronize Helidon’s release cadence with the JDK roadmap and intends to propose Helidon as an OpenJDK project. Helidon and the Java Platform Extension for VS Code will remain open source. JVP is available free of charge to Java SE subscribers and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) customers running Java workloads on OCI.
Finally, it is worth noting that JavaFX, the Java GUI framework, is once again supported via JVP. According to Oracle, this is due to growing demand. Support will be available for all new Java versions and all LTS versions during the five-year Premium Support tier. Support for JDK 8 will be extended until March 2028.