MySQL 5.7 includes several improvements such as 3x faster performance for point selects, native JSON support with indexing capabilities, InnoDB optimizations like online buffer pool resizing and general tablespaces, and replication enhancements including multi-source replication and transaction-based parallel replication. The document provides details on these and other new features in areas like security, high availability, geospatial functions, and monitoring capabilities exposed through the performance schema and SYS schema.