It's weird for a bug fix I wrote to be top of the list of features. PHP 7.2 is not the most eventful release.
I don't agree that it's "not the most eventful" release:- libsodium being included into the core is a big tick in the box in terms of maturing as a language; modern - secure - cryptography out of the box.
I do hope that - just like yourself, I am sure - the next significant step is more organically and proactively developed, and not treated (at least in the wider communtity's eyes) as a belated addition to a bewildered leviathan.
https://dev.to/paragonie/php-72-the-first-programming-langua...
It's also, well, just complicated and potentially controversial enough (significant performance decrease!) to warrant one.