The release of Apache Kafka® 3.5.0 introduces numerous enhancements and updates, including early access to a feature that allows Kafka clusters to migrate from Zookeeper to KRaft mode without downtime, though it is currently recommended for non-production environments. Notably, ZooKeeper is deprecated in this version and will be removed in Apache Kafka 4.0. The release includes several Kafka Improvement Proposals (KIPs), such as rack-aware partition assignment for consumers, a new ConfigProvider to use environment variables, enhancements to support SCRAM for inter-broker authentication, and improvements in handling serialization exceptions. Additionally, versioned state stores are introduced for better accuracy in processing out-of-order records, a Boolean Serde is added to the public interface, and first-class offsets support is introduced in Kafka Connect. The release also improves the dedicated mode of MirrorMaker 2.0 by supporting multiple instances and automatic reconfigurations, with future updates expected to expand REST API capabilities for managing offsets. This release was a collaborative effort involving contributions from numerous authors, reflecting the community's engagement and support.