WordPress has maintained a high release pace since 6.0. Full Site Editing matured, the block editor gained new features, and performance improved significantly. Here's what matters, without the fluff.
Full Site Editing
Since 6.1 you can edit the entire site visually: header, footer, page templates, archive pages. Not just page content. It requires a block theme (Twenty Twenty-Three or later), but it changes how themes are built and used. Clients can modify the header without calling the developer. That's... liberating and terrifying at the same time.
Performance
6.3 and onward focused hard on performance. Native lazy loading of images, fetchpriority="high" on LCP images, improved database query caching, more efficient translation autoloading. Measurably faster without you doing anything.
Synced patterns
Replaces the old "reusable blocks" concept. Synced patterns update everywhere when you change the original. Unsynced ones copy on insertion. Simpler naming, clearer behavior.
Style variations
Block themes can ship multiple color palettes and typography combinations. Users change the entire site's appearance with one click, without changing the theme. It replaces a large part of the need for theme customizers.
Command palette
Ctrl+K (or Cmd+K) opens a searchable command palette. Navigate to pages, switch templates, search settings. Fast for users who know what they're looking for.
WordPress 6.x is about making the block editor what it always promised to be: a complete tool for the entire site. It's not perfect yet, but it's much closer now.