Local type inference[1] means you can write:

  var foo = new Map<String, String>();

The static initialisation methods on collections[2] let you write

  var foo = List.of(1, 2, 3);

It's still clunkier than many newer languages but it is improving.

1. https://developer.oracle.com/java/jdk-10-local-variable-type...

2. https://docs.oracle.com/javase/9/docs/api/java/util/List.htm...