Since version 9, Java has new features every 6 months and it’s very hard to keep track of these new changes. Most of the information on the internet describes changes between the last 2 Java versions. However, if you’re in a similar situation as me, you’re not using the last Java version but a version several releases older.

Then it’s useful to know which new features were added since the version you use now, or between the versions that you use now and the one you want to start using next. Therefore I’ve compiled a table with all new features added since Java 8 for each new Java version. The first table contains changes in the Java language, the second language contains additions outside of the language, such as command line tools or JVM improvements.

Note that I didn’t include all the new features and API additions, only those that are most useful. There are some new less frequently used features that I didn’t include to keep the list brief.

Below you can find tables for:

• New Java language features
• New tools and features in OpenJDK
• Deprecated/removed features and APIs

New Java language features since Java 8

Feature	Since	Preview/incubation since
Record type		14
Pattern Matching for instanceof ( if (x instanceOf String) { x is String here }		14
Text blocks		13
Switch expressions (also JEP 354 in JDK 13)	14	12
New variants of exceptionally in CompletionStage class (async, componse)	12
String API improvements (indent, transform)	12
CompactNumberFormat class	12
String API improvements (repeat, isBlank, strip, lines)	11
Local-Variable Syntax for Lambda Parameters	11
New HTTP client API	11	9
Local-Variable Type Inference	10
Flow API (reactive streams)	9
Java Platform Module System (modules)	9
Collection factory methods	9
Stream API improvements (takeWhile, dropWhile, ofNullable, iterate with condition)	9
Multi-Resolution Image API	9
Stack-Walking API	9
this.getClass().getPackageName()	9
Process API updates (detailed info about processes, e.g. ID, onExit, destroy)	9
CompletableFuture API enhancements (delay, timeout)	9
Interface private methods	9
since and forRemoval in Deprecated annotation	9
Interface Default and Static Methods	8
Method References	8
Optional class	8
Lambda expressions	8
Functional interfaces	8
Stream API	8
Effectively Final Variables	8
Repeating Annotations	8
New Date Time API	8

New JDK tools and features since OpenJDK 8

Tool / feature	Since	Experimental since
Packaging Tool		14
Helpful NullPointerExceptions	14
Shenandoah GC		12
Epsilon (no-op) GC		11
Z GC		11
Experimental Java-Based JIT Compiler (Graal VM)		10
Docker Container Support (-XX:-UseContainerSupport)	10 and 8u191
Flexible heap size selection (-XX:MaxRAMPercentage)	10 and 8u191
Application Class-Data Sharing	10
jlink	9
JShell (Java REPL)	9
Multi-Release JAR Files	9
Compact Strings	9

Deprecated/removed features and APIs:

Feature / API	Deprecated since	Removed since
Solaris and SPARC Ports	14
ParallelScavenge + SerialOld GC Combination	14
CMS GC	9	14
Pack200 Tools and API	11	14
Nashorn JavaScript Engine	11
Java FX (moved to OpenJFX)		11
Java EE and CORBA modules	9	11
javah Native-Header Generator		10
jhat Heap Visualizer		9
Launch-Time JRE Version Selection		9
Rarely-Used GC Combinations	8	9
Applet API	9

For more details, the javaalmanac.io/ catalog is very useful to browse the changes in Java thoughout all its history. It can give you complete diff of APIs between selected Java versions, e.g. between Java 8 and Java 11. Very useful If you’re thinking about migrating to a specific Java version.