> Yet, somehow, in Java land, this is still the norm in 2026?

FFM (what this article refers to) was released some releases ago. So what is the issue? If you mean what 3rd party libraries use - is that a concern to you? That's like saying there exists legacy code.

> it has a long laundry list of warts

It's such a surprise because you haven't even mentioned 1.

> and a near-zero pace of innovation

Garbage collection? ZGC?