Angular v18 brings a variety of new features and improvements that make the framework more stable and user-friendly. Here are the key innovations in this version:

Zoneless Change Detection (Experimental)

Previously, the library zone.js was responsible for change detection in Angular. However, this library had some drawbacks. In Angular v18, the first experimental APIs for zoneless change detection are available, significantly improving the developer experience and performance. Developers can test zoneless change detection in their applications by using the new providers and removing zone.js from the polyfills.

Server-Side Rendering Improvements

Server-side rendering support has been enhanced with i18n hydration, better debugging, and event replay. These features are particularly useful for international applications and those requiring high performance.

Angular.dev: New Home for Angular Developers

The new website angular.dev is the official documentation portal for Angular. With a modern user interface, interactive tutorials, and improved search, it offers an optimal environment for developers.

Material 3 and Deferrable Views

Material 3 and deferrable views are now stable and offer numerous improvements. These new features can be used to make applications more efficient and performant.

Built-in Control Flow and Signal APIs

The new control flow functions and signal APIs are now stable and offer improved syntax and type checking. These features simplify the implementation of reactive applications.

Enhanced Debugging Tools

Angular DevTools have been updated to visualize Angular’s hydration process. Developers can now see exactly which components have been hydrated and fix any errors directly in the component view.

Partial Hydration and Event Replay

Partial hydration is a technique that allows applications to be gradually hydrated after server-side rendering. Additionally, event replay has been introduced, which records user actions during the loading process and replays them after hydration.

Improved Hosting Options with Firebase App Hosting

Firebase App Hosting now better supports Angular applications, offering integrated support for framework-specific requirements, GitHub integration, and other Firebase products.

Other Improvements

In addition to the major new features, numerous minor improvements have been implemented based on community feedback, such as setting default content for ng-content and adding unified control state change events.

These new features and improvements make Angular v18 a significant update that further simplifies and optimizes the development of modern web applications. Developers are encouraged to try out the new features and take advantage of the expanded capabilities