Stream.toList() (Java 16) vs collect(Collectors.toList())?

Stream.toList()

Java 16 adds stream.toList() returning an unmodifiable list—shorter than collect(Collectors.toList()) which returns mutable ArrayList.

• toList() null-hostile like List.of elements.
• Use collect(toCollection(ArrayList::new)) when mutation needed.
• Immutable result safe to expose from service methods.
• Order preserved for ordered streams.

List<String> names = people.stream()
    .map(Person::name)
    .filter(n -> !n.isBlank())
    .toList();