JDK 16: The new features in Java 16

Due in March, the next Java upgrade targets primitive classes, sealed classes, records classes, a vector API, and ports for Windows on ARM64 and Alpine Linux.

Editor at Large, InfoWorld |

JDK 16: The new features in Java 16 — Getty Images

Java Development Kit (JDK) 16 moved to an initial release candidate stage on February 4, with general availability of the production release set for March 16. The new features in JDK 16 range from a second preview of sealed classes to pattern matching to concurrent thread-stack processing for garbage collection.

JDK 16 will be the reference implementation of the version of standard Java set to follow JDK 15, which arrived September 15. With the release candidate, the JDK 16 stabilization repository now is open for any P1 (high-priority) bug fixes. A proposed release schedule for JDK 16 calls for a second release candidate on February 18.

Seventeen proposals officially target JDK 16 as of December 10, 2020. The new capabilities coming to Java 16 include:

Early-access builds of JDK 16 for Linux, Windows, and MacOS can be found at jdk.java.net. Like JDK 15, JDK 16 will be a short-term release, supported for six months. JDK 17, due in September 2021, will be a long-term support (LTS) release that will receive several years of support. The current LTS release, JDK 11, was released in September 2018.

Paul Krill is an editor at large at InfoWorld, whose coverage focuses on application development.