It is powered by proof of stake, which means no asic miners, and possibly quicker blocks.

A new virtual machine for smart contracts (EWASM instead of EVM) giving better contract analysis options, and possibly higher sync speeds due to optimisations.

Also, sharding - so multiple jndependent blockchains, that should fix the scalability.

If I’m not mistaken, this release is not yet a full blown new chain, but just a partially functional one, designed to test stabiloty and safety.

Disclaimer - I’m a bit out of loop, so I meay be slightly wrong somewhere.