Spring for Apache Kafka 4.0.0-M5 has been released, alongside a patch GA version 3.3.10. The development team expresses appreciation for all contributors. Version 4.0.0-M5 is the final milestone release for the 4.0 series. The first release candidate (RC1) is planned for release next month. Key updates in 4.0.0-M5 include comprehensive Jackson 3 support for serialization and messaging. Spring Retry has been replaced by Spring Framework 7's core retry feature, introducing a breaking change. The Apache Kafka client was upgraded to version 4.1.0, improving consumer handling. Release notes are accessible via provided links. The 4.0.0-M5 release will be integrated into Spring Boot 4.0.0-M3, while 3.3.10 will be in 3.5.6 and 3.4.10. The team encourages community feedback on these releases.