PHP 7 – This new version comes with new improvements and a new verison of Zend engine.

PHP 7.0.0 Released: 03 Dec 2015
Following some feature added in PHP 7 :

  •  Speed improvement
  •  Reduced memory usage.
  •  Consistent 64-bit support
  • Improved Exception hierarchy
  •  Asynchronous programming
  •  Secure random number generator
  •  Multithreading
  •  Better performance on WordPress Websites
  •  Return and scalar type declaration.
  •  Many fatal errors converted to exceptions.

  PHP 7.2 are the new security features–

Argon2 password hashing algorithm is the most recommended.The improved algorithm means that it’s much harder and more computationally intensive for attackers to obtain user passwords.

 PHP 7.2 for WordPress

It’s always important to run the most recent version of the software, but over 45% of WordPress users are still using PHP 5.6. Considering WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system, that’s a significant number of people running an out of date version. WordPress users should make sure that they upgrade to the latest version to make sure their websites are running as fast as possible, but be sure to check the PHP migration guide to avoid anything breaking.

New Features 

  • Scalar type declarations 
  • Return type declarations
  • Null coalescing operator
  • Spaceship operator 
  • Constant arrays using define()