Angular 16 is out now! What’s new to explore?

Exciting News for the Angular developers, Angular 16 is out now!

Angular 16 has hit the market, bringing a major makeover to this renowned web framework developed by Google. Frontend developers, especially those familiar with Angular, are in for a treat with the latest release. 

Brace yourself for an array of new and thrilling features, surpassing what we’ve seen in previous versions like Angular 15 or Angular 14 (excluding the transition from Angular to Angular 2). Angular’s influence on the web development industry is truly revolutionary, and the arrival of Angular v16 marks just the beginning. 

As a leading Angular web development company, we’re always at the forefront of technology, eager to explore and implement the exciting changes that Angular 16 has in store. Don’t miss out on discovering all the cutting-edge features and updates packed within Angular 16 with us.

Angular v16- new features and advancements

Released on May 3, 2023, Angular 16 builds upon the success of Angular 15.

Angular v16, the latest version of Google’s TypeScript-based web development framework, introduces a new reactivity model, enhancing web performance and developer experience. 

According to Minko Gechev’s blog post, the reactivity model improves runtime performance, reduces computations during change deflection, and remains compatible with the current approach. This model simplifies responsiveness by clarifying dependencies between the view and data flow, enabling efficient change detection in affected components.

Manage state changes with Angular 16 signals

Signals, influenced by Solid.js, is a fresh approach to managing state changes in Angular apps. Signals are functions that update when provided with new values (set()) and return a value (get()). 

They can also rely on each other, forming a reactive value graph that automatically updates when dependencies change. In Angular v16, signals can be combined with RxJS observables for powerful and expressive data flows.

Improved server-side rendering and Hydration

The angular team prioritizes server-side rendering as the top improvement for Angular. Instead of completely re-rendering the app, Angular now uses non-destructive hydration to attach event listeners to existing DOM nodes, resulting in up to 45% better LCP with full app hydration.

Offer benefits like-

• No content flickering for users on web pages
• Improved Web Core Vitals
• Future-proof architecture with fine-grained code loading
• Progressive lazy route hydration for enhanced performance
• Easy integration with existing apps using minimal code
• ngSkipHydration property for gradual adoption of hydration in components with manual DOM manipulation

Improved server-side rendering

Angular 16 introduces Server Side Rendering (SSR) as a built-in feature for faster and enhanced SSR applications. The browser employs a non-destructive hydration method during application hydration, preserving any existing HTML content or attributes without overwriting or deleting them. 

This approach safeguards server-side modifications and optimizations to the HTML content, while also preventing conflicts or errors caused by mismatched client-server HTML content.

Angular 16 Reactivity model and Zone.js

Angular v16 introduces two exciting features: the reevaluation of the reactivity model and the optional inclusion of Zone.js. 

Zone.js, a package that utilizes browser API monkey patches to detect changes and trigger change detection in Angular apps, simplifies development but adds complexity and overhead. In v16, developers can opt to handle reactivity using RxJS or signals instead, making Zone.js optional.

Elimination of ngcc

Angular transitioned to Ivy as its default view engine in version 9, abandoning the old one. To assist libraries still reliant on the old view engine, Angular Compatibility Compiler (ngcc) was introduced. 

However, in version 16, ngcc and all view engine-related codes were removed, rendering Angular View Engine libraries unusable in v16+. Consequently, the Angular Bundle should be minimized, as these libraries are no longer officially supported.

Other key features of Angular 16

Other core improvements in Angular 16 to look out for.

• Esbuild-based build system: 72% improvement in cold production builds, entering developer preview.
• Angular Signals package: Specify reactive values, and communicate dependencies.
• Angular 16: “Lifting” signals to observables from @angular/core/rxjs-interop.
• Standalone schematics: Start new projects as standalone via a developer preview.
• Jest testing framework: Experimental support.
• Nonce attribute: Specify component styles inlined by Angular.
• Angular templates: Self-closing tags for component closing tags.
• Angular 16: Route parameters tied to matching component’s inputs for the router.
• TypeScript 5.0 support: Notable for ECMAScript decorators extending JavaScript classes.

Community’s significant contributions

Angular16 features contributed by community members:

• Extended diagnostics for ngSkipHydration by Matthieu Riegler
• Introduction of provideServiceWorker by Julien Saguet

To stay ahead of the trends and latest improvements, you must connect with companies providing expert hands in developing and incorporating the latest features of Angular 16.

OnGraph will be happy to help you with all your modern-age Angular development requirements.