What’s New in Oracle APEX?

As Oracle APEX continues to evolve, it’s clear that 2025 is shaping up to be a transformative year for low-code development. With Oracle’s commitment to making APEX the premier tool for building secure, scalable web apps, the latest updates bring significant enhancements to developer productivity, user experience, and integration capabilities.

🔍 APEX 24.1 – What’s New?

The recent release of Oracle APEX 24.1 has introduced some exciting features that directly benefit both developers and end users. Here’s a quick look at what’s new:

1. AI-Powered Developer Assistance

Oracle is integrating AI more deeply into its developer tools, and APEX is no exception. APEX 24.1 includes:

• Code Recommendations: Context-aware suggestions for PL/SQL, JavaScript, and SQL.

• AI Help Assistant: Think ChatGPT, but tuned to Oracle APEX documentation and syntax.

This dramatically reduces time spent debugging or looking up function syntax—especially useful for newer developers or those working on complex forms and validations.

2. REST Data Source Enhancements

REST integration has received a major boost with:

• Improved REST Source Caching

• Support for OAuth2 Client Credentials

• Visual REST Query Builder: Making external API integration almost as easy as working with local tables.

APEX apps can now pull in live data from external services more efficiently, securely, and with less code.

3. Interactive Report Improvements

Interactive reports have been refreshed with:

• Conditional formatting rules

• Inline editing with validations

• Enhanced accessibility

Combined with better client-side performance, these updates make it easier to deliver high-quality, enterprise-grade user interfaces.

4. Progressive Web App (PWA) Support (Beta)

APEX 24.1 has introduced early support for Progressive Web Apps. While still in beta, this means users can “install” APEX apps to their devices and use them offline, with smoother mobile experiences.

Expect this feature to mature rapidly in upcoming releases.

🔧 Other Developer Enhancements

• Theme Roller 2.0: Real-time preview, improved mobile breakpoints, and dark mode support.

• Declarative Tooltips: Tooltips can now be defined directly on page items—no need for custom JS.

• Enhanced Debugging: APEX now provides a timeline view for debugging session performance, with better visibility into rendering bottlenecks.

🚀 What It Means for NZ APEX Developers

For NZOUG members and local developers, these updates are especially relevant. We’re seeing more Kiwi organisations adopt APEX for both internal apps and customer-facing portals. The blend of low-code speed with enterprise robustness is compelling, and these new features reduce the barrier to building and deploying high-quality apps.

If you’re already using APEX in your organisation, now’s a great time to explore the new capabilities. And if you’re not yet using it—APEX 24.1 is a perfect reason to start.

👥 Let’s Talk APEX

We’ll be running hands-on APEX workshops and meetups in the future. Stay tuned to the NZOUG website and our LinkedIn page for updates.

In the meantime, try out the new features on apex.oracle.com and let us know what you think!

Author: Chad Wappes

President, NZOUG