There is finally certainty: in January 2026, Oracle AI Database 26 AI will be available on premesses. The long-awaited successor to Oracle 19c “on-premises,” i.e., for on-premises installations.
Oracle 26 for on-premises installations We have heard of Oracle 21c or 23ai in recent years, but Oracle 26ai is quite new. Does this mean that it is a “zero” release?
NO, if you look at the header when calling sqlplus, it looks like this:
In other words, this is Major Release 23 and Patch Set 26, although this is still an exception. It should actually be called. Release 23.25.4.0.0 because it is the major release 23, the year 2025 and quarter 4. When the On Premisses version is released, it will have the number 23.26.1.0.0. In my opinion, this makes more sense than the current 19.29.0.0.0_20251017 (or something similar). In terms of availability and the ability to download the version, this means that we will have to be patient until January 21, 2026.
With the new numbering, Oracle has also got rid of its own “obligation”, namely that it wanted to bring out a new major release every year. In addition, the “panic” among companies that “develop” software should also subside because there is not a new major release every year and thus the need for extensive testing.
There are many interesting functions in Oracle 26ai. Among other things, the data type “Boolean” or the possibility to assign a grant to all objects of another user – finally!
If you would like to know how to work with Vector Search or use the MCP interface to the various LLMs, you will find the ideal opportunity here: ora2know noon2noon
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