What’s New in PHP 8.5? (Release Date + Must-Know Features)
PHP 8.5 is almost here! In this episode, we break down everything you need to know about the upcoming release, scheduled for November 20, 2025. From brand-new syntax to developer quality-of-life improvements, PHP 8.5 is packed with features you’ll want to start experimenting with right away.
The new Pipe Operator for cleaner, functional-style code
The NoDiscard attribute to catch costly “forgotten return value” bugs
Improvements to clone() for value objects
New array_first() and array_last() functions
The --ini=diff flag for spotting modified php.ini settings
Error backtraces for easier debugging
Plus lightning-round updates like `PHP_BUILD_DATE`, new attributes, and OPcache changes
📌 What You Need to Know:
1. Release date: November 20, 2025
2. Major features: Pipe Operator, #NoDiscard new clone() behavior
3. Deprecations to prepare for in PHP 9.0
👉 Stay ahead of the curve and make sure you’re ready for PHP 8.5.
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00:00 Intro
00:34 Overall
01:56 Honeybadger
02:41 Pipe Operator
03:38 #[\NoDiscard] Attribute
04:36 Clone()
05:19 array_first() and array_last()
05:49 Show Only Modified Settings
06:27 Error Backtraces
07:07 Lightning Round
07:36 General Deprecations
07:52 What You Need To Know
08:03 Outro