In January 2026, AWS added support for Kubernetes version 1.35 in Amazon EKS and the EKS Distro, allowing customers to create new clusters and upgrade existing ones accordingly. Key enhancements in this version include in-place pod resource updates for CPU and memory without restarts, and network traffic distribution improvements prioritizing local endpoints to reduce latency.
Additional features introduced include node topology labels accessible via Downward API, facilitating better regional and zonal pod awareness, and the capability to deliver data artifacts such as AI models through OCI container images. AWS supports the new Kubernetes version broadly across its global regions, but independent analysis of the operational impact was not referenced.
Source & further reading
Amazon EKS and Amazon EKS Distro now supports Kubernetes version 1.35 ↗Source published 2026-01-28. This report was prepared with AI assistance from the linked primary-source material. Claims and limitations should be checked against the original announcement or research.