On February 26, 2018, the new version of bitcoin core 0.16.0 was released with complete support for SegWit addresses, p2sh-SegWit, and bech32 addresses.
A new version of Bitcoin Core, version 0.16.0 is out. It supports SegWit as well as legacy, p2sh-SegWit (default) and bech32 addresses. New functionality will dictate which type of address to generate and use. It is also possible to downgrade after creating a SegWitaddress if the wallet file is up to date. It is also possible to recover an old backup of SegWit keys using the new software.
With the new functionality, users can generate and send funds to BIP173 addresses including the non-v0 ones. However, wallets created with the latest software update will not work with older software versions of Bitcoin Core.
Wallets created with earlier versions are supporting the new version. However, the new version can create hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets, and it is not possible to upgrade old wallets to HD.
To update to the new version, Windows users will need to shut down the system and run the installer. Mac and Linux users will need to copy specific files on their networks. Those using 0.7.x and earlier versions will need to download afresh while a manual update requires for those using version 0.8.
Regarding performance, a SHA256 assembly is enabling by default. Thus it allows a 50% speedups in SHA256 on supported hardware (namely 5% faster synchronization and block validation).
A detailed description of the changes can be found here https://bitcoin.org/en/release/v0.16.0
Source of the news: New Version of Bitcoin Core
