With the upcoming changes, Angular is not standing still. It is continuing to enhance its performance and improve developers’ experience. Now, angular.dev is the new home for Angular version 18.

In this article, we will see how to upgrade to the latest version which is Angular 18. Apart from that we will also see the latest features and improvement.

Why Upgrade to Angular v18?

Before diving into the upgrade process, let’s take a look at some of the reasons why upgrading to Angular v18 is beneficial:

1. Performance Improvements: Angular v18 includes several performance enhancements that make applications faster and more efficient.
2. New Features: The latest version introduces new features that simplify development and provide more powerful tools for building applications.
3. Bug Fixes: Upgrading to Angular v18 ensures you have the latest bug fixes and security patches, making your application more stable and secure.
4. Long-Term Support: Staying up-to-date with the latest version ensures that you receive long-term support and compatibility with future updates.

Upgrade from Angular v17 to Angular v18

Before updating to Angular v18 you need to check:

• You are using a supported version of node.js before you upgrade your application. Angular v18 supports node.js versions: v18.19.0 and newer.
• You are using a supported version of TypeScript before you upgrade your application. Angular v18 supports TypeScript version 5.4 or later.
• You are using a supported version of Zone.js before you upgrade your application. Angular v18 supports Zone.js version 0.14.x or later.

Follow these steps to update your application:

• In the project directory of your Angular application, open a terminal or command prompt.
• Run the following command to update your application to Angular v18:

  ng update @angular/core@17 @angular/cli@18

  

  Upgrade To Angular v18

  Angular v18 introduces changes to the Router’s public API. You need to configure the following properties in provideRouter or RouterModule.forRoot:
  • setupTestingRouter
  • canceledNavigationResolution
  • paramsInheritanceStrategy
  • titleStrategy
  • urlUpdateStrategy
  • urlHandlingStrategy
  • malformedUriErrorHandler
• The equality check for NgSwitch now uses === instead of ==. Review your application for any usage of NgSwitch and adjust as necessary. Angular will log a warning message for cases needing adjustment.
• In Angular v18, the default paramsInheritanceStrategy for child routes of loadComponent routes is now emptyOnly. If you want these child routes to inherit data from their parent, set paramsInheritanceStrategy to always

After You Update:

Once you have updated your application to v18, review your application and its interactions to ensure everything is working correctly. Make sure to test all functionalities and components to confirm that there are no regressions or unexpected behavior.

Folder Structure

Folder Structure

Dependencies

"dependencies": {
    "@angular/animations": "^18.1.1",
    "@angular/common": "^18.1.1",
    "@angular/compiler": "^18.1.1",
    "@angular/core": "^18.1.1",
    "@angular/forms": "^18.1.1",
    "@angular/platform-browser": "^18.1.1",
    "@angular/platform-browser-dynamic": "^18.1.1",
    "@angular/platform-server": "^18.1.1",
    "@angular/router": "^18.1.1",
    "@angular/ssr": "^18.1.1",
    "express": "^4.18.2",
    "rxjs": "~7.8.0",
    "tslib": "^2.3.0",
    "zone.js": "~0.14.3"
  }

To start the application run the following command

ng serve --open

Output

What’s New in Angular 18?

1. Zoneless Change Detection with Signals

Previously, Angular relied on Zone.js for change detection, which could include overhead and Complexity as it was bounded to a specific component. In the newer release, Angular has completely shifted from Zone.js to Signals. Signals are  a specific type of observable designed to optimize change detection for asynchronous data and give fine gained information about which part of model has changed. When a change Detection occurs, then at that time in App there are many unnecessary checks, but with the help of signals these unnecessary checks can be avoided and only that part of app will be updated in which there is a change.

2. Function Based Routing Direction

Routing Redirection is a common practice in Angular Applications. Angular 18 Provides a new way to define routes redirects using functions. This allows more dynamic and flexible redirection logic.

3.Angular Material

Angular Material, a popular UI component library is developing day by day. A couple of months ago Material 3 was introduced but it has received stability now. Fore more information ,visit Angular Material.

4.Server Side Rendering Improved

Server Side Rendering has improved as faster load is implemented , i18n hydration support is implemented this support was not provided earlier, hydration support in angular material is implemented. All the features combine together will improve the performance and stability of Server side Rendering.

Additional Features:

• Default content in ng-content: Now, with this version of Angular, Default Content can also be used in <ng-content>.
• Deferrable views are Stable: Deferrable views which were launched in Angular v17 have received stability now. Now, you can use @defer to load your components. It will increase your performance and reduce the bundle size.
• Build in Control Flow: Build-in Control flow which was introduced in Angular v17 as a new block syntax for optimized, built-in control flow, resolving the issues faced with *ngIf, *ngSwitch, and *ngFor directives has received stability now.
• Forms in Angular: Just like observables, now we can subscribe to FormControl as well.