Foojay Podcast #90: Highlights of the Java Features Between LTS 21 and 25

Wondering if the jump from Java 21 to Java 25 is worth the effort? Four years of releases stack up to a long list of changes, and picking the ones that actually affect your code is hard. We walked through the highlights between the two LTS versions, from virtual threads to ahead-of-time features, and looked at what each one solves in practice. I hosted this conversation with Jakob Jenkov for episode #90 of the Foojay Podcast.

What we talked about

Bug fixes and performance improvements that come for free with a newer JDK
Java as a scripting language with simpler launch options
Garbage collector improvements, including Generational Shenandoah
Project Loom, virtual threads, and structured concurrency
How Java evolves through the six-month release cycle and the incubator and preview tracks
Project Leyden and ahead-of-time features
Project Babylon
The Class-File API
The Foreign Function and Memory API
The Vector API
The removal of String templates

Why it matters

If you sit on an older LTS, the gap to 25 looks bigger than it really is. Most of the new APIs land as opt-in tools you can adopt one at a time. Jakob and I tried to map each feature to a concrete problem so you can decide which ones earn a place in your project first.

See the Foojay Podcast #90 for all info, shownotes, links, etc.