Apache Spark 4.0 Now Available on Amazon EMR

AWS Big Data · 2026-06-09 · data

Amazon has announced the general availability of Apache Spark 4.0 on its Elastic MapReduce (EMR) service. This update means that Spark 4.0 is now supported across various deployment options, including Amazon EMR Serverless, Amazon EMR on EC2, and Amazon EMR on EKS.

The new version introduces several key features such as Spark Connect, the Variant data type, SQL scripting capabilities, improvements to the Python API, and enhancements for streaming. Additionally, there are infrastructure updates included in the new emr-spark-8.0 release, which further bolster the performance and functionality of Spark on the EMR platform.

Why it matters for certification candidates

This announcement is significant for those pursuing certifications in big data and cloud technologies, such as the AWS Certified Data Analytics - Specialty. Understanding the capabilities of Apache Spark and its integration with AWS services can be crucial for exam preparation and practical applications in data engineering roles.

Original reporting: AWS Big Data