ZGC has evolved over the past decade from an experimental feature in JDK 11 to a robust, production-ready garbage collector powering critical online services worldwide.

ZGC is a concurrent garbage collector, meaning all heavy GC tasks are performed alongside application threads, resulting in sub-millisecond pause times. This makes ZGC a suitable garbage collector for applications where short response times are important. This talk will explore:

  • A brief history of ZGC

  • Its internal mechanisms

  • The performance in JDK 25

  • Future development plans

Make sure to check the JavaOne 2026 playlist.