PHP continues to evolve with every release, bringing in new features, performance improvements, and syntactic sugar that modern developers have come to appreciate. As we look toward PHP 8.5, currently in active development with an anticipated release in November 2025, let’s explore some of the exciting updates and changes coming our way.

1. Improved Performance with JIT Enhancements

The Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler introduced in PHP 8 has been gradually refined, and PHP 8.5 is expected to bring further performance optimizations. While not every PHP application sees a dramatic boost from JIT, computationally heavy tasks—like those in scientific or data-heavy applications—stand to benefit more with the latest refinements.

2. Readonly Classes

After the success of readonly properties in PHP 8.1, PHP 8.5 introduces readonly classes. Declaring an entire class as readonly means all properties in the class are implicitly readonly, reducing boilerplate and improving code clarity.

readonly class Config {
    public string $appName;
    public string $version;

    public function __construct(string $appName, string $version) {
        $this->appName = $appName;
        $this->version = $version;
    }
}

3. Asynchronous Signal Handling

PHP 8.5 is expected to support better asynchronous signal handling—especially useful for long-running CLI scripts. This allows developers to trap OS-level signals like SIGINT or SIGTERM and handle graceful shutdowns or restarts more effectively.

pcntl_async_signals(true);

pcntl_signal(SIGINT, function() {
    echo "Gracefully stopping...\n";
    exit;
});

4. Better Type Safety with Explicit Variance

PHP 8.5 is likely to enforce and clarify variance rules (covariance and contravariance) for parameters and return types. This will enhance type safety in inheritance chains and interfaces, helping catch more issues at development time rather than runtime.

5. New Functions and Enhancements

Several new built-in functions and improvements to existing ones are expected. While the exact list is still being finalized, the community has proposed:

• str_starts_one_of() and str_ends_one_of() for multiple prefix/suffix checks.

• Better DateTime support for time zones and intervals.

• Enhanced array utility functions like array_partition().

6. Better Error Messages

Following the trend started in PHP 8.0, PHP 8.5 is expected to continue refining error messages to be more descriptive, especially in areas like type mismatches, undefined variables, and deprecated feature usage. This should help developers debug faster and write more robust code.

7. Deprecations and Backward Compatibility

As with every major update, a few older features may be deprecated. Some possibilities include:

• Legacy INI settings being removed.

• Deprecated functions from earlier PHP versions becoming unavailable.

• Warnings for dynamic property creation without explicit declaration.

It’s important to start testing your codebase with pre-release versions of PHP 8.5 to catch any compatibility issues early.

Final Thoughts

PHP 8.5 may not be as revolutionary as PHP 8.0, but it’s shaping up to be a solid evolutionary step. With performance tweaks, better syntax, and enhanced developer ergonomics, it’s another sign of PHP’s active development and vibrant ecosystem.

To stay ahead, keep your environment updated, follow RFCs, and test early with RC builds. The future of PHP continues to look bright—and PHP 8.5 is a great step forward.