TL;DR: Angular 21 introduces zoneless change detection, signal-based forms, and faster builds with esbuild/Vite. Syncfusion ensures full compatibility with Angular UI components, allowing developers to upgrade immediately without any compatibility issues. This guide covers the key features and migration steps.
Angular 21 is officially here, bringing significant improvements in performance, reactivity, and developer experience. With features like zoneless change detection, signal-based forms, and faster builds powered by esbuild and Vite, this release enables the faster and easier development of large-scale applications.
Syncfusion is proud to announce full compatibility with Angular 21.0.0.
All 145+ Syncfusion Angular components, including Charts, Scheduler, DataGrid, Rich Text Editor, Diagram, and more, have been tested and work seamlessly with the newly released Angular 21, right out of the box.
No patches, no workarounds, no waiting for updates, simply run: ng update @angular/core @angular/cli and keep building enterprise applications with confidence.
In this post, we’ll highlight the standout features of Angular 21, why they matter for your next project, and how Syncfusion’s Angular components deliver seamless support.
Let’s dive in.
Key features of Angular 21
1. Zoneless change detection by default
Historically, Zone.js patched browser APIs to trigger change detection automatically, but it added overhead to bundles and complexity to the change detection model. Angular 21 enables zoneless mode by default, eliminating the need for Zone.js in most applications. The result: smaller bundles, faster dev/rebuild times, and improved runtime performance.
2. Experimental signal-based forms
Signal-based forms introduce an experimental API that models form using Angular signals instead of observable subscriptions. While reactive forms rely on FormGroup / FormControl and subscription management, signal-based forms expose value, validity, errors, and disabled state as reactive signals that update automatically without manual subscriptions. This reduces boilerplate, lowers the risk of memory leaks, and enables finer-grained change detection, keeping forms synchronized through Angular’s reactivity system.
3. Angular MCP server for AI-assisted development
Angular’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) server has become stable now. It surfaces project structure, APIs, best practices, and conventions to AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot and Cursor. This context-aware bridge enables more accurate code suggestions, smarter scaffolding, and edits that align with your routing, components, and build setup. The feature is emerging and continues to evolve across supported tooling.
4. New @angular/aria package
The @angular/aria package introduces framework-level utilities that simplify building accessible applications. It centralizes common ARIA patterns and reduces the boilerplate needed to support assistive technologies across components and templates.
5. Esbuild/Vite application builder
Angular 21 introduces a major improvement in its build system by adopting esbuild and Vite as the default application builder. This change impacts both development and production workflows.
6. Vitest as the default test runner
Angular 21 introduces Vitest as the default CLI test runner, replacing the traditional Jasmine/Karma setup. This marks a major modernization of Angular’s testing ecosystem. Vitest is a fast, Vite-powered test runner built for modern JavaScript frameworks. It is ESM-native, ensuring seamless compatibility with ES modules. Since it is built on top of Vite, Vitest inherits the same speed, efficient module handling, and improved developer experience that Vite offers.
// my.component.ts
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
@Component({
selector: 'my-component',
standalone: true,
template: `
<h1>Hello</h1>
<p>Welcome to Angular 21 + Vitest.</p>
`,
})
export class MyComponent {}
// Test code
import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
import { MyComponent } from './my.component';
describe('MyComponent', () => {
it('renders title', () => {
const fixture = TestBed.createComponent(MyComponent);
expect(fixture.nativeElement.querySelector('h1')?.textContent).toContain('Hello');
});
});
7. HttpClient and smarter template/styling ergonomics
Angular 21 simplifies HTTP communication by making HttpClient available by default in new applications. Developers no longer need to manually import HttpClientModule; you can directly inject HttpClient into your services or components and start making API calls immediately. This small but impactful change reduces boilerplate and speeds up development for apps that rely on HTTP requests.
Template and styling ergonomics also see notable improvements. The NgStyle directive now works seamlessly with Angular’s new control flow syntax (@if, @for), making conditional styling more intuitive.
Additionally, NgClass is moving toward native class bindings for better readability and performance, though existing usage will continue to work. These updates make Angular templates cleaner, more expressive, and aligned with modern best practices.
Syncfusion delivers seamless Angular 21 compatibility
Angular 21 delivers performance, improved reactivity, and developer experience enhancements that make large-scale applications faster and easier to maintain. Syncfusion ensures seamless compatibility so you can upgrade without friction.
Key benefits include:
-
Zero-day compatibility
- Syncfusion offers immediate support for Angular 21 without requiring patches or updates.
- Developers can upgrade Angular and continue using Syncfusion components seamlessly.
-
Performance gains
- Bundle size reduction: 12–22% smaller bundles when using zoneless mode.
- Faster initial render: 15–28% improvement in rendering speed for major components like Grid, Charts, and Document Editor.
-
Zoneless change detection support
- All Syncfusion components in Essential Studio version 31.x are zoneless-compatible, ensuring smooth migration and better performance.
- In applications featuring major components such as Grid, Charts, Document Editor, and Scheduler, we observed an initial render time around 18.97% faster
- With Syncfusion components, the sample application rendered in Angular 21 took an average of 1.10 seconds, compared to 1.36 seconds in Angular 20.
-
AI-assisted development via the MCP server
- The Angular MCP server works with tools like GitHub Copilot to generate context-aware code.
- Syncfusion provides its own MCP server, enabling AI tools to produce production-ready code using Syncfusion APIs.
-
Faster builds with Esbuild/Vite
- Angular 21 uses esbuild + Vite by default for faster builds.
- Syncfusion components benefit from reduced build times and optimized bundle sizes without extra
-
No Syncfusion package update required
- Existing Syncfusion versions (31.x or later) work perfectly with Angular 21.
- Migration steps are minimal, just update Angular CLI and core packages.
Upgrading your Syncfusion-powered app to Angular 21
Follow these steps to migrate Angular applications that use Syncfusion components to Angular 21.
Step 1: Update Angular CLI globally
Run the following command to install the latest Angular CLI:
npm install -g @angular/cli@21
Step 2: Update the project
Upgrade the core Angular packages and CLI within your project:
ng update @angular/core@21 @angular/cli@21
Step 3: (Optional) Switch the existing app to the new builder
If you want to take advantage of Angular’s new build system, generate the new builder configuration:
ng generate @angular/application-builder
Step 4: Run tests, deploy, and enjoy the speed boost.
After updating, run your tests to ensure everything works as expected. Once verified, deploy your application and experience the improved performance and build efficiency in Angular 21.
Ready to experience Angular 21 with Syncfusion?
Discover the power of Angular 21 combined with Syncfusion’s rich component library. Start by exploring the Syncfusion Angular components in our Feature Tour and download or update the latest Syncfusion Angular packages to take advantage of new capabilities.
Syncfusion also provides an MCP server for Angular components to guide you through integration and best practices. For detailed instructions, refer to the official documentation.
Angular 21 is here, and with Syncfusion’s full compatibility, there’s no reason to wait. Upgrade today to deliver faster, lighter, and more accessible applications.
Which Angular 21 feature are you most excited to try with Syncfusion components? Share your thoughts in the comments below. If you have any questions or need assistance, reach out through our support forum, support portal, or feedback portal. Our team is always ready to help.
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This article was originally published at Syncfusion.com.
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