Angular 18 new features & release date

Angular, a powerful platform for building dynamic and interactive applications, is getting even better, with version 18 on the way with a lot of enhancements. The new features will make it easier for developers to develop amazing web applications that run fast. Let's have a look at what we can expect from Angular 18 and how it could make web development even more enjoyable and efficient.

Angular 18 release date and new features

Angular 18 will be released on May 22 by Google. It's a TypeScript-based framework for developing frontend web applications that includes many new features. Most notably, Angular 18 will have TypeScript 4.7 support, and will shift features such as deferrable views and declarative control flow from developer preview to stable stage.

Deferrable views, commonly known as "@defer blocks" allow developers to postpone the loading of certain dependencies from component templates. This helps to reduce the initial bundle size of the application.

Declarative control flow adds a new built-in language for control flow to the framework. This syntax, represented by @if, @for, and @switch, substitutes functions such as NgIf, NgFor, and NgSwitch, respectively.

Angular 18 is optimized to leverage the capabilities of TypeScript 4.7. This enhanced version of JavaScript brings notable performance upgrades, such as quicker compilation times and a more efficient build process. These improvements contribute to a more seamless development experience and potentially faster execution of applications.

Additional features integrated into the Angular 18 release include:

Core Improvements

The Angular team is still working to improve the core framework, with ongoing efforts focusing on refining areas like as change detection, which guarantees that the user interface reacts to any updates in the underlying data. Furthermore, we foresee significant improvements to rendering and dependency injection, which could lead to more responsive and efficient apps.

These performance updates are expected to dramatically improve the user experience in Angular 18 applications. When dealing with complex data structures or large datasets, users can expect applications to be more responsive and agile. This results in a better and more delightful user experience, improving overall app responsiveness and usability.

Route Redirects with Functions

Angular 18 introduces a groundbreaking feature for managing redirects, enhancing the way we handle routing within our applications. Now, instead of relying solely on static strings, Angular 18 allows us to utilize functions to specify the redirect URL within the redirectTo property of the Route object. This enhancement offers a significant boost in flexibility and opens up a myriad of new possibilities in routing management:

export const routes: Routes = [
  {
    path: 'link1',
    redirectTo: (url) => { 
      return '/link2'; 
    },
    pathMatch: 'full'
  }
];

The "url" object has all the details about a route, such as its data, title, extra info, and where it fits in the app's structure.

New RedirectCommand

Angular version 18 brings forth the introduction of the RedirectCommand class, tailored specifically to handle NavigationExtras. This addition significantly enhances redirection capabilities within Guards and Resolvers. By integrating the RedirectCommand class, developers benefit from improved maintainability and flexibility, simplifying the management of intricate navigation patterns in Angular applications:

import { inject } from '@angular/core';
import { RedirectCommand, Route, Router, UrlTree } from '@angular/router';
import { MyPage } from './pages/my-page';

const route: Route = {
  path: 'my-page',
  component: MyPage,
  canActivate: [
    () => {
      const router: Router = inject(Router);
      const urlTree: UrlTree = router.parseUrl('./my-other-page');

      return new RedirectCommand(urlTree, { skipLocationChange: true });
    },
  ],
};

Zoneless Change Detection

Angular 18 introduces a fresh capability where change detection operates independently without intermediaries like zone.js.

One of the main goals of Signals is to make applications function without zone.js. At first, this seemed only possible with Signal Components. However, things have changed. With the upcoming release of Angular 18 next week, it will now be feasible to achieve this without relying on Signal Components.

Enhanced Angular DevTools

Angular 18 is set to introduce various enhancements to its debugging tools, aimed at simplifying the debugging process for Angular applications and offering deeper insights into the application state:

Debugging facilitated with source maps.
Visual representation of the component tree and data bindings.
Performance profiling capabilities.

Improved Forms API

Angular 18 is set to incorporate several upgrades to the forms API, streamlining form creation and validation while offering greater control over the validation process:

Simplified definition of form objects and validation criteria
Enhanced support for managing intricate validation scenarios

New `ng-template` API

Angular 18 will unveil an upgraded ng-template API, simplifying template creation and utilization. This enhanced API will offer:

Enhanced flexibility and capabilities
Streamlined creation of reusable and maintainable templates

In addition to the previously mentioned features, Angular 18 will also incorporate:

Support for Web Components
Enhanced internationalization capabilities
Introduction of a new router API
ng-content default content

Conclusion

In conclusion, Angular 18 represents a significant milestone, incorporating numerous enhancements and new features aimed at boosting the speed, capabilities, and ease of development for Angular applications. Angular developers can anticipate the official launch of Angular 18 with excitement, as it promises to bring forth a range of advancements to elevate their development experience.