Angular Signals & Zoneless: The Modern Angular Revolution

2 min read

🎯 TL;DR: Angular 20 revolutionizes with Signals + Zoneless = -10.4% transfer size, no Zone.js polyfills, enhanced performance

🧠 Signals: The New Reactivity

What it is: A modern reactivity system that advantageously replaces RxJS for local state management.

// Before (complex)
this.userService.getUser().pipe(map(user => user.name)).subscribe(...)

// After (simple)
count = signal(0)
doubleCount = computed(() => this.count() * 2)

Ultra-simple template:

<div>{{ count() }}</div> <!-- No more | async needed -->

⚑ Zoneless: Maximum Performance

Zone.js completely removed = No polyfills + granular change detection

// Angular 19: polyfills needed (34.52 kB)
// Angular 20: βœ… No polyfills needed!

// Simple configuration
export const appConfig: ApplicationConfig = {
  providers: [
    provideZonelessChangeDetection(), // 🎯 Magic!
    // ...
  ],
}

πŸ“Š Real Measured Results (Custom Starter Kit)

Bundle Size Comparison

VersionRaw SizeTransfer SizeFeatures
Angular 19744.97 kB144.87 kBStandard setup
Angular 20725.47 kB129.78 kBSignals + Zoneless + Enhanced features

Performance Gains

MetricImprovementImpact
Raw Bundle-19.5 kB (-2.6%)Faster initial load
Transfer Size-15.09 kB (-10.4%)Better network performance
Build Time2.720sOptimized compilation
Zone.jsβœ… RemovedNo polyfills needed

πŸ“ˆ Key insight: These metrics are from a custom starter kit comparing Angular 19 vs 20. Even with more features in Angular 20, better performance is achieved thanks to Zoneless architecture!

🎨 Winning Pattern

export class ModernComponent {
  // Simple state
  data = signal<User[]>([])
  
  // Automatic derived state
  activeUsers = computed(() => this.data().filter(u => u.active))
  
  // Reactive updates
  updateData(newData: User[]) {
    this.data.set(newData) // All computed automatically update!
  }
}

πŸ† Why Adopt Now?

βœ… Performance: Granular change detection + faster builds (2.720s)
βœ… Simplicity: No more RxJS complexity for local state
βœ… Bundle: No Zone.js polyfills (34.52 kB saved)
βœ… Network: -10.4% transfer size for better loading

🚦 Express Migration

  1. New project: provideZonelessChangeDetection()
  2. Existing project: Progressive migration by component
  3. Pattern replacement: BehaviorSubject β†’ signal()

πŸ”— Resources

πŸ“š Learn more

πŸ› οΈ Community

Angular 20 marks a turning point in the framework's evolution. With Signals providing intuitive reactivity and Zoneless architecture delivering measurable performance gains, Angular has finally caught up with modern frontend expectations. The combination of simplified state management, reduced bundle size, and improved developer experience makes this upgrade not just recommended, but essential for staying competitive in today's frontend landscape.

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