Why one should prefer static factory methods over constructors in Java?

Static factory methods have descriptive names (unlike anonymous constructors)

They clearly communicate intent (e.g., of(), valueOf(), getInstance())

They can return cached, pre-existing, or singleton instances

They avoid creating unnecessary new objects every time

They can return subtypes or completely different implementations

They hide implementation classes from clients

They enable flyweight, immutable, or canonicalized objects

They support multiple creation patterns with the same parameter types

They reduce verbosity for parameterized types (especially pre-diamond operator)

They form the foundation of modern APIs (List.of, Optional.of, etc.)

They allow better naming than overloaded constructors

Constructors are still fine for very simple mandatory new-instance cases

Use static factories by default unless you specifically need subclassing

They make code more flexible, readable, performant, and idiomatic