Grafana 7.4 introduces several notable updates, including a next-generation graph panel named "time series," which supports high-performance visualization and is in beta. This panel utilizes a new architecture and aims for full feature coverage by Grafana 8.0, offering enhanced interpolation modes, axis control, and live streaming at 30 fps. The release also adds Prometheus exemplar support, enabling quicker trace discovery, along with a variable inspector to aid in understanding dashboard variable usage. Other features include a new node graph panel for visualizing complex networks, new data transformations for sorting and filtering, trace-to-log navigation, server-side expressions for data manipulation, and enhanced variable support in alert notifications. Additionally, Elasticsearch plugin updates improve alerting and aggregation, and Grafana Enterprise users can now export usage insights to Loki for detailed analysis. The release encourages users to explore these features through demos, documentation, and a new free plan on Grafana Cloud.