diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c6bc718a6..14d2d4ac4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 # Change Log
 
+## [1.8.1](https://github.com/ably/ably-java/tree/v1.8.1)
+
+[Full Changelog](https://github.com/ably/ably-java/compare/v1.8.0...v1.8.1)
+
+### What's Changed
+
+- Bring the LiveObjects implementation into line with the reconciled objects spec and reorganise the shared unified test suite (UTS) infrastructure [#1228](https://github.com/ably/ably-java/pull/1228). Inbound operation handling is hardened so a single malformed operation no longer discards its batch siblings, a missing counter `number`/`count` is now representable and behaves consistently across transports, and the channel-state data lifecycle (RTO27) and root-object safeguards (RTO10c1b1/RTLO4e10) are honoured. Alongside this, `:uts` becomes a shared test-infra module and the spec-derived UTS suites move into the modules that own the code they exercise. This work was delivered through the following PRs:
+  - Make `:uts` a shared test-infra module and move UTS suites to their owning modules [#1231](https://github.com/ably/ably-java/pull/1231)
+  - Make `:uts` a shared test-infra module, move UTS suites to owning modules, and add objects spec-conformance [#1229](https://github.com/ably/ably-java/pull/1229)
+
 ## [1.8.0](https://github.com/ably/ably-java/tree/v1.8.0)
 
 [Full Changelog](https://github.com/ably/ably-java/compare/v1.7.2...v1.8.0)
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 3c8f7abb7..1ba930791 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ You may wish to make changes to Ably Java or Ably Android, and test it immediate
 - Open the directory printed from the output of that command. Inside that folder, get the `ably-android-x.y.z.aar`, and place it your Android project's `libs/` directory. Create this directory if it doesn't exist.
 - Add an `implementation` dependency on the `.aar`:
 ```groovy
-implementation files('libs/ably-android-1.8.0.aar')
+implementation files('libs/ably-android-1.8.1.aar')
 ```
 - Add the `implementation` (not `testImplementation`) dependencies found in `dependencies.gradle` to your project. This is because the `.aar` does not contain dependencies.
 - Build/run your application.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 76fe5693c..df01f5dcb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -51,14 +51,14 @@ The Java SDK is available as a [Maven dependency](https://mvnrepository.com/arti
 <dependency>
     <groupId>io.ably</groupId>
     <artifactId>ably-java</artifactId>
-    <version>1.8.0</version>
+    <version>1.8.1</version>
 </dependency>
 ```
 
 ### Install for Gradle:
 
 ```gradle
-implementation 'io.ably:ably-java:1.8.0'
+implementation 'io.ably:ably-java:1.8.1'
 implementation 'org.slf4j:slf4j-simple:2.0.7'
 ```
 
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ Add the following dependency to your `build.gradle` file:
 
 ```groovy
 dependencies {
-    runtimeOnly("io.ably:liveobjects:1.8.0")
+    runtimeOnly("io.ably:liveobjects:1.8.1")
 }
 ```
 
diff --git a/gradle.properties b/gradle.properties
index 687397416..2aaa9962b 100644
--- a/gradle.properties
+++ b/gradle.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 GROUP=io.ably
-VERSION_NAME=1.8.0
+VERSION_NAME=1.8.1
 POM_INCEPTION_YEAR=2015
 POM_URL=https://github.com/ably/ably-java
 POM_SCM_URL=https://github.com/ably/ably-java/
diff --git a/lib/src/test/java/io/ably/lib/test/realtime/RealtimeHttpHeaderTest.java b/lib/src/test/java/io/ably/lib/test/realtime/RealtimeHttpHeaderTest.java
index 1226309c5..17338be51 100644
--- a/lib/src/test/java/io/ably/lib/test/realtime/RealtimeHttpHeaderTest.java
+++ b/lib/src/test/java/io/ably/lib/test/realtime/RealtimeHttpHeaderTest.java
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ public void realtime_websocket_param_test() {
              * Defaults.ABLY_AGENT_PARAM, as ultimately the request param has been derived from those values.
              */
             assertEquals("Verify correct lib version", requestParameters.get("agent"),
-                    Collections.singletonList("ably-java/1.8.0 jre/" + System.getProperty("java.version")));
+                    Collections.singletonList("ably-java/1.8.1 jre/" + System.getProperty("java.version")));
 
             /* Spec RTN2a */
             assertEquals("Verify correct format", requestParameters.get("format"),