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Heroku Postgres Adds General Availability for PostgreSQL 16

Heroku has introduced general availability for PostgreSQL 16 across all managed Heroku Postgres database tiers. Developers can now provision new PostgreSQL 16 databases or upgrade existing databases using the Heroku CLI.

Verified State Diff

Comparison Mode:

- Previous State

Heroku Postgres databases were capped at PostgreSQL 15, limiting users from adopting SQL:2023 JSON functions and new logical replication optimizations.

+ Verified New State

PostgreSQL 16 is fully supported and available for direct CLI provisioning and in-place database upgrades across all Heroku Postgres tiers.

Impact & Verification Analysis

WHO IS AFFECTED

Developers and DevOps engineers running database workloads on Heroku Postgres.

WHY IT MATTERS

Provides access to the latest PostgreSQL performance optimizations, improved I/O monitoring capabilities, and updated JSON standards without requiring manual database migration off Heroku.

Full Fact Overview

Heroku officially launched support for PostgreSQL 16 across Essential, Standard, Premium, and Enterprise Heroku Postgres plans. This release enables developers to leverage SQL standard JSON constructor and query functions, improved query performance via parallelized full and inner joins, and enhanced logical replication control. Existing databases running version 15 can be upgraded directly using the `heroku pg:upgrade` command or provisioned via `heroku addons:create heroku-postgresql --version=16`.

Multi-Source Evidence Chain (1)

Heroku Official Product Documentation & Release Notesheroku.com

TRACKED ENTITY

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