Oracle plans to deprecate the much-maligned Java browser plugin in JDK 9. For years, the bundled plugin put users at risk with its numerous security flaws. The web is clearly moving to a plugin-free state, which is a good direction.
If you are relying on the Java browser plugin, you should take a look at Java Web Start.
Here is the official blog post by Oracle:
https://blogs.oracle.com/java-platform-group/entry/moving_to_a_plugin_free
Stefan