Málaga hosted the ElixirConf EU 2026. Here's what changed. 1. Type Inference Arrives (No Annotations Required) Elixir 1.20 introduces whole-program type inference. The compiler now understands function signatures, guard conditions, and map key domains without explicit type annotations. What this means: A function performing arithmetic on map values now infers that the input must be a map containing numeric keys. Pattern matching across clauses carries type knowledge forward. Handle nil in one branch? Subsequent branches know the value cannot be nil . The system also tracks map mutations through the Map module, emitting compile-time warnings when operations reference keys proven to be absent. For teams: Fewer runtime errors. Earlier logic flaw detection. Testing effort shifts from defensive type checking to business logic validation. Requires Erlang/OTP 27 or later. 2.…