Exploring the Latest Features in Angular 16: What’s New in the Framework

Welcome to our in-depth exploration of the highly anticipated release of Angular 16! As one of the most popular and powerful front-end development frameworks, Angular has continually evolved to meet the demands of modern web development.  

With each new iteration, developers and businesses have been treated to exciting enhancements, performance optimizations, and cutting-edge features that make building robust web applications a breeze. 

In this blog, we’ll take you on a thrilling journey through the latest additions and improvements that Angular 16 brings. Whether you’re an experienced Angular developer seeking to stay ahead of the curve or a curious newcomer eager to grasp the capabilities of this remarkable framework, you’re in for a treat. So, without any further ado, let’s get started! 

 

What’s new in Angular 16? 

Angular 16 signifies a paradigm shift in web application development beyond a mere upgrade. Released on May 3rd, 2023, it follows the successful launch of Angular 15. This Google-developed, TypeScript-based framework introduces a simpler mental model for handling responsiveness, outlining dependencies between views and data flow within the application. 

One of the notable features of Angular 16 is its fine-grained reactivity, allowing for more efficient change detection in affected components. Moreover, this version introduces a new signals library as part of @angular/core and an RxJS interop package, @angular/core/rxjs-interop. While full signal integration is expected later this year, developers can leverage these exciting additions. 

 

Features of Angular 16 

 1. Angular Signals

Angular signals draw inspiration from Solid.js and present a novel way of managing state changes within Angular applications. The underlying push/pull pattern methodology forms the basis of this approach. 

Signals essentially act as functions that can be updated by invoking them with a new value using the set() method. They also return a deal when the get() method is utilized. 

This innovative feature empowers you to define reactive values and establish dependencies between them, enabling efficient management of state changes within your Angular applications. 

Let’s explore an example that demonstrates how to implement Angular signals: 

@Component({
selector: 'my-app',
standalone: true,
template: `
{{ fullName() }} <button (click)="setName('John')">Click</button>
`,
})
export class App {
firstName = signal('Jane');
lastName = signal('Doe');
fullName = computed(() => `${this.firstName()} ${this.lastName()}`);

constructor() {
effect(() => console.log('Name changed:', this.fullName()));
}

setName(newName: string) {
this.firstName.set(newName);
}
}

 

 2. Enhanced Server-side Rendering and Hydration

According to Angular’s annual developer survey, server-side rendering stands out as the top area for improvement. With the whole new non-destructive hydration approach, Angular no longer requires a complete re-render of the application. Instead, it intelligently seeks existing DOM nodes and attaches event listeners while creating internal data structures. 

As Angular developers, you can take advantage of several benefits, including: 

• Elimination of content flickering on pages, leading to improved user experience 
• Better Web Core Vitals, enhancing website performance 
• Future-proof architecture with primitives enabling fine-grained code loading, particularly noticeable in progressive lazy route hydration 

• Simple integration with existing apps, requiring just a few lines of code 
• The gradual adoption of hydration for components that handle manual DOM manipulation using the ngSkipHydration property in templates 
• The impact of total app hydration has been remarkable, with Angular observing up to 45% improvement in LCP (Largest Contentful Paint). 

To get started with whole app non-destructive hydration, all it takes is adding a few lines to your main.ts: 

import {
bootstrapApplication,
provideClientHydration,
} from '@angular/platform-browser';

...

bootstrapApplication(RootCmp, {
providers: [provideClientHydration()]
});

 3. Reactivity Model and Zone.js (Zoneless)

Angular v16 introduces two fascinating features to enhance runtime performance: the reactivity model reconsideration and making Zone.js optional. 

Currently, Angular relies on a package called Zone.js, which uses browser API monkey patches to detect changes and trigger change detection in applications. Although this approach simplifies Angular usage and development, it has increased overhead and complexity. 

The reactivity model has been reevaluated, resulting in a more flexible approach. As a significant improvement, Zone.js will no longer be a mandatory dependency. Instead, developers can choose to manage reactivity using RxJS or signals. This empowers developers to optimize their applications, making them more efficient and responsive while reducing the framework’s overhead. 

 

4. Required Component Inputs

Angular 16 introduces a valuable feature (Required Component Inputs) that significantly enhances the developer experience and code quality of Angular applications. With this new feature, developers can now designate input values as required.  

It can be achieved using the @Input decorator or the @Component decorator inputs array. Doing so will catch any bugs or typos related to missing input data during compile time. This ensures that components receive all the essential data to function correctly. 

@Component(...)
export class App {
@Input({ required: true }) title: string = '';
} 

 5. Brand New ng Collection

Angular v16 brings an exciting enhancement where you can now create new projects as a standalone right from the beginning! To experience the developer preview of the standalone schematics, ensure you are using Angular CLI v16, and then run:   

ng new --standalone

With this update, your project output will be much more straightforward, eliminating the need for NgModules. Furthermore, all the generators in the project will produce standalone directives, components, and pipes! This feature offers greater flexibility and ease in project setup, enabling you to build more modular and efficient applications. 

 

Other Features of Angular 16: 

1. Auto-importing of components and pipes through the language service, streamlining the coding process. 

2. Support for TypeScript 5.0, ECMAScript decorators, Service workers, and SCP through the CLI, enabling you to leverage the latest language features and tooling. 

3. CSP (Content Security Policy) supports online styles, ensuring improved application security. 

4. Self-closing tags, simplifying the markup, and making it more concise. 

5. Cease of support for ngcc and TypeScript 4.8, streamlining the build process and staying current with the latest TypeScript version. 

6. Improved security measures to prevent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks, ensuring safer web applications. 

7. Support for CSS Isolation and built-in integration for Tailwind CSS provides more styling and theming options. 

8. Design tokens in Angular Material Library allow a more systematic and consistent approach to design elements. 

 

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, Angular 16 brings many exciting new features and improvements that empower developers to create exceptional web applications.  

Now is the perfect time to embrace the power of Angular 16 and elevate your projects to new heights. By hiring an AngularJS developer from AFour Technologies, you can unlock the full potential of Angular 16 and ensure your web applications thrive in the long run. 

Don’t miss out on the opportunities that Angular 16 presents. Explore and harness its latest features today for a brighter and more successful web development journey. Let’s keep the momentum going together!