Delphi versions

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Delphi is the modern software development environment for Pascal, a structured and object-oriented programming language. The first Delphi version was released in 1995. Today, Delphi has reached version 13.1.

One of Delphi’s greatest strengths is the long lifespan of the applications it creates. But unfortunately, there are many organizations that still run older Delphi applications that are hard to maintain. This was never a problem, but that changes once the internal Delphi specialist is approaching his retirement and there is no one left. Do you recognize this? Then it’s smart to upgrade your older Delphi projects to the latest version to benefit from new features, improved performance, and platform support.

Turbo Pascal: the predecessor of Delphi.

The very first Delphi

The first version of Delphi (Delphi 1) was released for Windows 3.1 in 1995. It was one of the first Rapid Application Development (RAD) tools. Delphi had a fast 16-bit MS-DOS compiler with its own Delphi IDE and textual user environment toolkit for DOS (Turbo Vision). A year later Delphi 2 was released. This version brought support for 32-bit Windows. Delphi 3 (1997) added new VCL components (such as Rebar and Toolbar).

Delphi 4

Delphi 4 and 5: new editor and features

One year after Delphi 3 came Delphi 4. The IDE got a new editor and was dockable for the first time. VCL added support for ActionLists anchors and constraints. Delphi 5 (1999) included smart capabilities such as the ability to use frames, an improved integrated debugger, XML support and translation capabilities.

Delphi 7

Delphi 6 to 2007: the first steps to .NET and back to basics

Delphi 6 (2001) introduced several innovations, such as a completely new design of some components. These now had the style of Windows 2000. Its successor Delphi 7 is still one of the most widely used Delphi versions. Fast, stable and working on almost every PC, Delphi 7 included support for UML and XML for the first time. There was also limited support for .NET for the first time. The choice for .NET was further implemented in Delphi 8, which also included the VisualStudio-based interface. However, this proved to be unsuccessful, as a result of which the popularity of Delphi declined slightly. The following versions (Delphi 2005, 2006 and Delphi 2007) went back to basics and brought further improvements in the areas of memory management and IDE performance.

Delphi 2009, 2010 and the XE series: Unicode and multi-platform

The biggest addition in Delphi 2009 was the full Unicode support. It was also possible to use generics and anonymous methods. The support for the development of .NET disappeared from the Delphi IDE as of this version. Delphi 2010 introduced the RTTI, and had further improvements in the field of touch screen and gestures. Delphi XE contained a lot of small changes compared to Delphi 2010, only from Delphi XE2 onwards did the Delphi IDE again contain larger improvements; support for Mac and iOS was added through Firemonkey, and from XE5 also Android.

Delphi 10, 11 & 12: The cities generations

Delphi 12 (officially RAD Studio 12) is the latest version of Delphi. Delphi 10 Seattle (10.0) was released in 2015.  Subsequently, a new version of Delphi has been released almost every year, namely 10.1 Berlin (2016), 10.2 Tokyo (2017), 10.3 Rio (2018), 10.4 Sydney (2020), 11 Alexandria (2021) and 12 Athens (2023).

Delphi 12 was a major update that included significant changes across various aspects such as C++ (Visual Assist and new Clang Tech Preview), Installer & IDE (Multidevice Icons, DelphiLSP, VCL Designers), FireMonkey & Skia (Skia UI Controls, rendering and graphic formats, TMemo, and TEdit), VCL (MDI & Tab-based UIs, Fonts and Screens, Components Improvements), Data (JSON Data Binding, FireDAC Secure Coding, Sqids, RAD Server, HTTP, REST), Delphi (String literals improvements, platforms, Circular Uses Statements, Floating Point), and numerous bug fixes (over 1,200 issues, bug reports, and feature requests addressed).

I see 2024 as the year Delphi 12 was polished. The big features from 12.0 got the attention they needed, and I was glad to see that. In 12.1, the Clang compiler integration stood out. On a day-to-day level, I loved the split editor views, because having two files side by side in one IDE window is something I’d been missing for years. With 12.2 came Windows 11 23H2 support and proper High DPI, and on a modern screen that difference is impossible to miss. FireDAC was also tuned, which is the kind of change you don’t notice until you go back to an older version.

Delphi 12.3 arrived in 2025, and it was the release that made everything feel faster. Builds are quicker, the IDE runs more smoothly, and code insight finally keeps up when I’m typing or refactoring. The improved REST Debugger and the extra macOS ARM64 support are nice bonuses, but speed is what I notice every day. If you’re still on 12.0, I really think it’s worth upgrading.

Delphi 13: welcome to Florence

Delphi 13, codename Florence, came out in 2026. For me the headline is full Windows on ARM support. You can now compile native ARM binaries that run directly on ARM hardware, or on an ARM VM on your Mac, with no Intel emulation slowing them down. Some smaller changes make daily work nicer too. The popular Bookmarks plugin is now built into the IDE, and the FireMonkey Style Designer has been rebuilt as a standalone tool for styles, typography and animations. The biggest win for me is DelphiLSP with LSIF support, which makes navigating large codebases a lot faster.

The release looks better as well. There are six new Windows 11 VCL styles, and the IDE itself has rounded corners and a cleaner navigation bar. On mobile, Delphi 13 supports Android API Level 36, which Google Play requires from August 2026, and iOS 26. Finally, Server-Sent Events let you stream data over HTTP in real time through new classes like TWebResponseStream. That makes this release especially relevant if you’re working with AI or MCP. All in all, I think it’s a solid release, and if you have questions about upgrading, just let me know.

The future of Delphi

Delphi is a fine programming language, embraced by programmers all over the world. It enables you to build apps for web, Linux, iOS, Android, IoT & more. In addition, applications run (optionally) in the cloud. So Delphi will probably be used for a long time to come. However, there are more good alternatives nowadays than in the past, such as a low code platform like Codolex. This is why at GDK Software we not only employ Delphi developers.

Delphi update?

Would you like to update your Delphi application? We are at your service for a Delphi update. With our years of experience, we will convert your Delphi application to the latest version. We do this with our own developed conversion tool. Please contact us for free advice.

Want more? Read Pioneering Simplicity!

In addition to this overview of Delphi versions, I’ve also written a book titled Pioneering Simplicity. This book explores the rich history of the Pascal and Delphi programming languages, from their academic beginnings with Niklaus Wirth to the global success of Turbo Pascal and the launch of Delphi as a powerful RAD tool. I think it’s a must read for Delphi developers, so let me know what you think!