Java 26
| Status | In Development |
|---|---|
| Release Date | 2026-03 |
| EOL Date | 2026-09 |
| Umbrella JSR | JSR 401 |
| Class File Version | 70.0 |
| Unicode Version | 16.0.0 |
| API Changes | Compare to 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 1.4 - 1.3 - 1.2 - 1.1 - 1.0 |
| Documentation | Release Notes, JavaDoc |
| SCM | git |
New Features
Here are all new features in Java 26 by category. There is also of list of all features of all Java releases.
JVM
- Ahead-of-Time Object Caching with Any GC (JEP 516)
- G1 GC: Improve Throughput by Reducing Synchronization (JEP 522)
API
- Prepare to Make Final Mean Final (JEP 500)
- Remove the Applet API (JEP 504)
- HTTP/3 for the HTTP Client API (JEP 517)
- Vector API 10. Incubator (JEP 529)
Should I Upgrade?
Java 26 is not yet released and still under active development. There are weekly early access builds you can use for testing.
Downloads
| Vendor | Product | License | Platform Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azul Systems | Zulu Builds of OpenJDK 26 | GPLv2+CE | |
| Oracle | Oracle OpenJDK 26 | GPLv2+CE | |
| SAP | SapMachine 26 | GPLv2+CE |
Sandbox
Instantly compile and run Java 26 snippets without a local Java installation.