Kodee’s Kotlin Roundup: KotlinConf ’26 Updates, New Releases, and More

KotlinConf 2026 is starting to take shape, and there’s a lot happening across the Kotlin ecosystem right now. From the first conference speakers and community awards to new releases, tools, and real-world Kotlin stories at serious scale, I’ve gathered all the highlights you won’t want to miss. Let’s dive in!

Kodee-Approved Spotlight

The full KotlinConf’26 schedule is ready!

The full KotlinConf’26 schedule is finally live on our website! Talks, workshops, amazing speakers – it’s all there. I’ve already started mapping out my agenda (and yes, there are some tough choices). Take a look and start shaping your own conference experience!

Explore the schedule

Join the Kotlin Ecosystem Mentorship Program

The Kotlin Foundation is launching a new mentorship program to help newcomers make their first meaningful open-source contribution to Kotlin. Guided by experienced maintainers, mentees will go through the whole contribution process, from onboarding to getting a real change merged, with a limited number of mentor–mentee pairs, Kotlin-branded swag, and even a chance to win a trip to KotlinConf 2026.

Learn more

What’s New in Kotlin 2.3

I took Kotlin 2.3 for a spin, and it brings smarter checks, cleaner property patterns, stabilized language features, and improved time and UUID APIs. Kotlin Multiplatform also gets faster builds, smaller binaries, and smoother interop across Native, Web, and JavaScript.

See what’s new

Ktor 3.4.0 is now available

Ktor 3.4.0 is out, bringing updates that make server-side Kotlin more flexible and robust. This release adds duplex streaming support, better control over the request lifecycle, and expanded compression options to help you handle modern workloads more efficiently.

Explore Ktor 3.4.0

Compose Hot Reload reaches 1.0.0

Compose Hot Reload has reached version 1.0.0, marking a significant milestone for faster UI development. The post walks through the journey to stability and explains how Compose Hot Reload can speed up iteration when working with Compose by applying UI changes instantly, without restarting your app. Compose Hot Reload is bundled with Compose Multiplatform starting from version 1.10.

See how it works

How Amazon Fashion uses Kotlin for backend development

I always like seeing Kotlin used at a serious scale, and this example definitely qualifies. In this talk, Katie Levy from Amazon Fashion shares how her team migrated a large backend service from Java to Kotlin, gaining cleaner, more testable code, faster delivery, and far fewer nullability issues.

Watch how they did it

Last chance to nominate yourself or a community member for the Golden Kodee Community Awards

KotlinConf 2026 is also introducing something new, and I couldn’t be more excited about it: the Golden Kodee Community Awards. Nominations are open until February 22, inviting you to spotlight the people who make the Kotlin community thrive across creativity, education, and community building. Finalists will be announced in April, with winners revealed live at KotlinConf. Travel costs for all finalists are covered.

Nominate someone awesome

Help us understand how you use Exposed!

If you’re using the Exposed library in your Kotlin projects, I’d love to hear how it’s working for you. There’s a short survey, which should only take five minutes to complete, focused on real-world usage and where Exposed can be improved next. Your feedback helps guide future improvements – and as a small thank-you, you can enter a draw for a prize of your choice. If you have a moment, your input can make a real difference.

Take the survey

The Ultimate Guide to successfully adopting Kotlin in a Java-dominated environment

I know that adopting Kotlin in a Java-heavy codebase isn’t about flipping a switch or rewriting everything overnight. This Ultimate Guide lays out a practical, step-by-step path – from safe experiments in tests to production use and scaling Kotlin across a team or organization, with concrete migration patterns you can actually apply.

Read the guide

Qodana for Android Kotlin

Qodana now supports Android projects written in Kotlin, bringing static analysis and code quality checks tailored for Android workflows. It helps teams catch issues early and keep Kotlin codebases healthy as they scale.

Check it out

Koog x ACP: Connect an agent to your IDE and more

Koog now integrates with the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), enabling AI agents to connect directly to JetBrains IDEs. This post explains how the integration works and what it enables for Kotlin-based AI tooling.

Read more

From certifed Kotlin trainers

• How Backend Development Teams Use Kotlin in 2025
• How Mobile Development Teams Use Kotlin in 2025

Where you can learn more

• Industry Leaders on the KotlinConf’25 Stage: What Global Brands Built With Kotlin
• Advent of Code 2025 in Kotlin: Puzzles, Prizes, and Community
• Pick Your KotlinConf Workshop by What You Want to Learn
• Exposed 1.0 Is Now Available
• Kubernetes Made Simple: A Guide for JVM Developers
• A Better Way to Explore kotlinx-benchmark Results with Kotlin Notebooks

YouTube highlights

• API Design at Google: Building Android Libraries
• Talking Kotlin #144 | Kotlin 2.3 Release Special (Audio Only)
• Making Apps Accessible With Kotlin and Compose
• Sell or Buy? Custom Financial Data Visualisation With Kotlin
• Language Design in the Age of AI
• Why iOS Devs Struggle With KMP (and How to Fix It)
• A Better Way to Explore and Solve Programming Puzzles: Kotlin Notebooks
• Why ING Chooses Kotlin for Server-Side