Elasticsearch 7.12, based on Apache Lucene 8.8.0, introduces several new features and enhancements, making it the latest stable release available for deployment on Elastic Cloud or through download. Key updates include the general availability of runtime fields, which provide flexibility in data onboarding and searching by allowing fields to be defined dynamically, alongside the introduction of a frozen tier for cost-effective data storage and searchability on object stores like Amazon S3. The release also brings improved support for ARM architectures, advanced aggregation functionalities, and enhancements in index lifecycle management (ILM) with a refreshed user interface. Additionally, Elasticsearch 7.12 supports new queries for geoshapes, adds a data retention policy for continuous transforms, and offers a repository test kit for validating S3-compatible object stores, emphasizing flexibility and innovation across the Elastic Stack.