JDK 28 preview brings value types, cutting Java’s object overhead dramatically
Oracle confirmed JEP 401 – value classes and objects – will ship as a preview in JDK 28, adding roughly 197 K lines of code. The change lets developers write regular classes that the JVM can store and process like primitives, slashing pointer indirection and heap overhead. Early adopters must enable the preview and watch for tooling updates, but the performance boost could reshape Java’s data‑heavy workloads.