Drupal 10.3 getting ready for Drupal 11

Drupal 10.3 was released on June 20th and brings with it important features, besides being the version chosen to make the jump to Drupal 11. Yesterday, July 4th, Drupal 10.3.1 was released to resolve some bugs and errors from the last major version. 
Some of the most relevant features of Drupal 10.3 are:

New Navigation module

Drupal 10.3 brings with it a new, experimental navigation module , which is a complete redesign of the classic toolbar. This module improves the user interface by incorporating a collapsible, left-aligned vertical sidebar that is more efficient for complex menus and can be collapsed to save space. It is also highly customizable with features like dark mode and density control, as well as the ability for site builders to create and place navigation blocks, which can be customized, rearranged, or removed through the user interface. 

Changes to the theme and template system

Sticky table headers are now implemented with pure CSS instead of JavaScript.

Additionally, the update.php script will now use the Claro theme instead of the configured maintenance theme, to ensure that updates are run in a consistent environment.

Changes in PHP dependencies

• Twig has been updated from version 3.5.0 to 3.9.3.
• The Composer development dependency of Drupal core has been updated to Composer 2.7.7.
• Numerous other dependencies have received minor and patch-level updates to the latest versions.

Changes to frontend production dependencies (CSS and JavaScript)

• CKEditor 5 has been updated from 41.2.0 to 41.3.1.
• jQuery Form has been removed as an external dependency. It is now forked in core because it was abandoned in source. It is tagged @internally and should not be used directly by contributed or custom modules.

Important keys to keep in mind

There are a few important points regarding upcoming updates and Drupal support:

• Drupal 10.3 is the penultimate version of Drupal 10, however, it is the minimum version required before upgrading to Drupal 11.
• Drupal 10 will also release version 10.4, which will actually be the last version. Drupal 10.4 will be a maintenance release, with minor security and compatibility fixes.
• Security support for Drupal 10.1.x has ended. Sites using Drupal 8, 9, 10.0, or 10.1 should upgrade to a supported version as soon as possible.
• Let's not forget that Drupal 7 will reach its final end of life on January 5, 2025. It will no longer be supported.

UPDATED ON 7/28/2024, AT 19:28H:

Drupal 11 will be released the week of July 29, 2024.