PHP 8.5: What’s New and Changed (Upcoming Features & Deprecations)

Expected Release Date: November 20, 2025
Current Status: In Alpha (8.5.0alpha1)
Perfect For: PHP developers eager to explore modern features and prepare codebases for the future.

New Features in PHP 8.5

1. Pipe Operator (|>)

A long-awaited feature, the pipe operator allows for functional-style programming by passing the result of one expression directly into the next function:

$value
    |> strtolower($$)
    |> trim($$);

✅ Improves readability and enables cleaner pipelines of transformations.

2. New curl_multi_get_handles() Function

Now you can retrieve all handles associated with a curl_multi session—making advanced HTTP requests and debugging easier.

$multi = curl_multi_init();
// add handles... $handles = curl_multi_get_handles($multi);

3. New PHP_BUILD_DATE Constant

Provides the build timestamp of the PHP binary:

echo PHP_BUILD_DATE;

🔍 Useful for debugging, testing, or ensuring you're running the right compiled version.

4. get_exception_handler() and get_error_handler() Functions

Finally, PHP developers can inspect currently set handlers programmatically.

$exceptionHandler = get_exception_handler();
$errorHandler = get_error_handler();

Helpful for debugging frameworks, custom error loggers, and exception flows.

5. Stack Trace for Fatal Errors

One of the biggest pain points in PHP is not knowing where a fatal error happened.
With PHP 8.5, fatal errors now come with stack traces, helping developers trace issues like:

• Memory exhaustion
• Maximum execution time
• Non-recoverable errors

🛠 Debug faster. Sleep better.

6. New locale_is_right_to_left() Function & Locale::isRightToLeft() Method

Working with RTL (Right-to-Left) languages like Arabic or Hebrew? You can now detect RTL locales easily:

if (locale_is_right_to_left('ar')) {
    echo "RTL layout needed";
}

 Great for multilingual and internationalized applications.

7. New array_first() and array_last() Functions

No more writing custom logic to fetch the first or last element:

$first = array_first([10, 20, 30]); // 10 $last = array_last([10, 20, 30]);  // 30 

Clean and concise functional programming support continues.

8. CLI: php --ini=diff

Run this in your terminal:

php --ini=diff

It will show only modified INI settings, making it easier to track what’s changed from the defaults.

9. New IntlListFormatter Class

Improves international list formatting using the ICU library.

$formatter = new IntlListFormatter('en', IntlListFormatter::TYPE_CONJUNCTION);
echo $formatter->format(['Red', 'Green', 'Blue']); // "Red, Green, and Blue" 

💬 More human-friendly output for multilingual UIs.

Deprecations in PHP 8.5

MHASH_* Constants

All MHASH_* constants are now deprecated.

⛔ This includes constants like MHASH_MD5, MHASH_SHA1, etc.
✅ You should migrate to the hash() API with algorithms like 'sha256'.

// Instead of mhash(MHASH_SHA1, $data);

// Use hash('sha1', $data);

Wrapping Up

PHP 8.5 introduces clean, modern improvements while deprecating legacy parts of the language. If you're building robust apps, APIs, or enterprise-grade platforms, these updates will help you write cleaner, safer, and more maintainable code.

📌 Want to stay ahead? Start testing your app with the PHP 8.5 alpha build, especially if you use mhash, complex locales, or functional array operations.

Related Tools:

• PHP Version Checker Tool 🔍
• INI Diff CLI Tips
• More PHP Tips & Tricks