Top 8 Features in Angular 18 That You Can't Miss

Angular is a leading front-end framework developed by Google and recently its Angular 18 was released on 22 May 2024. Angular version 18 introduces many new features that boost the web app performance and robustness.

The developers can easily install the latest Angular CLI version by entering the command ng update @angular/.

Here you can explore the Angular 18 release date and its mind-blowing features. Although Angular 18 includes multiple features, its ability to improve performance with zone less change detection and better signal debugging has particularly caught the attention of developers.

In current version of Angular, developers get flexible routing options with function-based redirects to simplify the dataflow in a new input function.

Explore the main Angular 18 features, which include finalized functionalities from earlier versions and various new additions:

• Zoneless change detection with Signals
• Route redirects with functions
• Signal APIs in developer preview
• Firebase App Hosting
• Built-in control flow
• Event replay

Angular 18 stands out from its predecessors by enabling robust Firebase hosting with enhanced server-side rendering and new form control state change events. This version also stabilizes existing features from Angular 17 and introduces exciting new functionalities.

Discover Angular 18’s latest functionalities and updates. It includes compiler optimizations, smooth web component integration, advanced debugging tools, and many more. Here’s a closer look at these updates:

1. Zoneless Change detection with Signals:

• This Zoneless change detection with Signals feature in Angular 18 improves performance by reducing the burden associated with conventional change detection techniques.
• You can easily enable this feature by implementing the code given below.

bootstrapApplication(AppComponent, {

  providers: [

    // It will help to enable Zoneless Change Detection

    provideExperimentalZonelessChangeDetection(),

  ],

});

2. Route Redirects with functions

• Angular 18 introduces dynamic route redirects based on runtime conditions, providing greater flexibility. The redirectTo property now accepts a function that returns a string.
• See the code given below to understand how it works.

const routes: Routes = [

  { path: "Home", component: HomeComponent },

  {

    path: "old-user-page",

    redirectTo: ({ queryParams }) => {

      const errorHandler = inject(ErrorHandler);

      const userIdParam = queryParams['userId'];

      if (userIdParam !== undefined) {

        return `/user/${userIdParam}`;

      } else {

        errorHandler.handleError(new Error('Attempted navigation to user page without user ID.'));

        return `/not-found`;

      }

    },

  },

  { path: "user/:userId", component: OtherComponent },

];

• This approach to dynamic routing improves the user experience based on runtime conditions and provides smooth navigation and efficient error handling.

3. Signal APIs in Developer Preview

• Angular 17.1 and 17.2 introduced signal-based inputs, queries, and new output syntax features. In Angular 18, the Angular Signal API has been launched in developer preview, marking significant progress in reactive programming.
• These Signal APIs provide a robust mechanism to manage states and data flows, enhancing the intuitiveness and responsiveness of applications.
• Signal APIs in Angular ensure a thorough approach to data changes, keeping the UI continuously synchronized with the application's current state.

4. Better Firebase App Hosting:

• The introduction of Firebase App Hosting in Angular 18 has completely changed the way to launch responsive Angular apps. The handling of hybrid rendering complexities like pre-rendering, server-side rendering, and client-side rendering has become a lot easier due to this hosting option.
• It was released at Google I/O and deployment is simple because of its GitHub support and smooth integration with Angular frameworks.
• One of the main advantages of this feature is that it offers in-built framework support for GitHub integration and other firebase products like Authentication, Cloud Firestore, and Vertex AI.

5. Built-in control flow:

• In Angular v17, a new built-in control flow with better performance was introduced. Because of that, developers have now adapted its new syntax and based on the feedback from the community now its API is stable.
• With its stability in Angular version 18, developers can easily manage complex UI logics. The type checking of control flow has been improved, providing better guardrails against performance-oriented anti-patterns.

6. Event Replay:

• Angular has revealed a significant project that merges Google's internal framework, Wiz. Previously, Wiz and Angular were used separately for creating apps in various domains. Angular prioritized developers' productivity and offered a better user experience.
• While Wiz focused on customer apps that provide optimal speed. One of Google’s fundamental libraries event dispatch (Previously known as jsaction) has recently evolved and is now included in Angular's monorepo as of version 18.
• By implementing the withEventReplay() function you can activate it. See the code sample.

bootstrapApplication(App, {

  providers: [

    provideClientHydration(withEventReplay()),

  ],

});

7. Better Debugging Experience:

• The debugging experience in Angular 18 has been improved a lot due to the elimination of ZoneJs. It simplifies the call stack and makes debugging smoother.
• The well-organized process helps track and resolve the issues within your app. In the latest version of Angular, next to each component, developers can find the icon that showcases the component’s hydration process.
• If your app has any hydration issues, then you can resolve them with Angular DevTools as it allows you to visualize them in the component explorer.

8. Form’s control state change events in Angular 18

• Angular Form Control introduces a new property called "events," enabling form controls to subscribe to an event stream. This feature facilitates tracking changes in form states such as control, pristine, touch, and value states.
• This feature improves the overall form management experience in Angular apps as the developers can monitor and react to different form control states most effectively.
• Explore the code given below:

const nameControl = new FormControl<string|null>('name', Validators.required);

nameControl.events.subscribe(event => {

  if (event.type === 'valueChange') {

    console.log('Value changed to:', event.value);

  } else if (event.type === 'statusChange') {

    console.log('Control status changed to:', event. Status);

  }

});

Also Read: React vs Angular: Which is better for Front-end Development?

1. Improved Server-Side Rendering (SSR):

• The latest version of Angular introduces an optimized rendering pipeline with a more effective SSR procedure, enhancing SEO and website loading speed.
• The integration of new SSR APIs into current applications is more straightforward.

2. Enhancements in Differential Loading:

• Angular 18 optimizes loading speeds and performance by automatically generating distinct bundles for contemporary and older browsers.

3. Ivy Rendering Engine:

• Now the development has become much simpler with optimized error messages and debugging tools. Additional Ivy engine modifications reduce the final bundle size and increase its runtime efficiency.

4. TypeScript 5.4:

• Now the requirement to use Angular 18 has been upgraded as the developers need to use the TypeScript 5.4 version and its newest capabilities allow them to create innovative applications.

Angular 18 is a major release that introduces different types of new features, improvements, and optimizations. It doesn’t matter whether you are an experienced Angular developer or a beginner, this version has something new to offer for everyone.

This release is packed with tools and enhancements aimed at boosting productivity and performance. With Angular 18, developers can now enjoy faster builds, improved performance, and a more user-friendly development experience.

Do you want single-page web apps, progressive web apps, enterprise apps, etc.? Then don’t worry Linearloop is a perfect place for you. Our experienced team of developers uses the latest version of Angular to deliver a tailored solution that meets your specific requirements.