Angular is a robust and feature-rich JavaScript framework that is widely used to develop modern web applications. In case you have never dealt with it before, it would be at least informative to read our Angular Introduction blogpost to get acquainted with the framework and understand its benefits.
As with any constantly evolving technology, staying current with Angular ensures your applications remain secure, performant, and future-proofed. Angular v22, released in 2026, continues to raise the bar — stabilising zoneless change detection, graduating Signal Forms to production-ready, and deepening AI-assisted development tooling. For teams already invested in the Angular ecosystem, it's a compelling reason to upgrade.
In this blog post we'll explore some strategies for keeping up with Angular updates. Using this information you may balance proper application performance and dev team workload planning.
Why should you upgrade?
Before we get into how to upgrade to the latest version of Angular let's quickly recap on all the why’s.
- Increased Productivity of your team: The latest Angular version offers several tools and features that can help improve productivity, including improved code reusability and easier debugging. This can help your development team work more efficiently, which can save time and reduce costs.
- Competitive Advantage: Upgrading to the latest Angular version can give your business a competitive advantage by enabling you to offer new features and functionality that your competitors may not have. This can help you differentiate your business and attract new customers.
- Upgraded Security: Upgrading to the latest Angular version can improve the security of your application, which is important for protecting your business and your customers' data. This can help build trust with your customers and improve your brand reputation.
From Angular version 22 and beyond
Angular has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, driven by a shift toward a more lightweight, composable, and reactive architecture. Earlier versions established the foundations — standalone components, declarative control flow, and the introduction of Signals — that the framework now builds upon as first-class defaults.
Angular v19 solidified many of these innovations, particularly around incremental hydration, event replay, and deeper integration of Signals into the core framework. It also enhanced developer tooling, with more robust debugging capabilities and improved performance tracking.
Angular v20 continued this trajectory, refining the Signals-based reactive system and improving support for hybrid rendering strategies, including static site generation (SSG), SSR, and client-side rendering (CSR). Stronger type checking, CLI improvements, and expanded support for modern web APIs reflected the framework's steady push toward a more intuitive and composable development model.
Angular v21 pushed further, moving toward zoneless change detection — reducing reliance on zone.js in favour of more predictable, fine-grained Signal-driven updates. It introduced experimental Signal Forms, embraced AI-assisted development via the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, and modernised the testing experience with Vitest.
Angular v22 stabilises and doubles down on all of the above. Zoneless change detection becomes a fully supported default, Signal Forms graduate to production-ready, and MCP tooling sees further refinement for AI-assisted workflows. Angular v22 is the clearest expression yet of where the framework is headed: Signals-first, streamlined, and built for the modern web. Learn more on Angular blog.
By leveraging Angular's modern architecture — Signals-based reactivity, hybrid rendering, and zoneless change detection — teams can build faster, more responsive applications that scale cleanly and deliver measurably better user experiences.
Now once we discover all the why’s lets move to the how’s.
How to upgrade Angular versions
Understanding the Angular Release Cycle is essential for staying up to date with the latest changes and features. New major versions are consistently released every six months. As many other software teams around, Angular team follows a semantic versioning system, which means that each major release comes with significant changes that may require some modification in your codebase. By understanding the release cycle, you can prepare for upcoming updates and ensure that your codebase is optimised to take advantage of new features.
In these cases, it's important to ensure that the version you're using is still receiving Long-Term Support (LTS).
| Risk | Features | Upgrade Path | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major | High | Significant | upgrade scripts / refactor code / modify tests |
| Minor | Medium | Small | upgrade scripts |
| Patch | Low | No | upgrade core packages |
LTS versions are provided with critical bug fixes, security updates, and patches for a longer period of time than non-LTS versions. By using an LTS version, you can ensure that your application remains secure and functional while you work on upgrading to a newer version.
When considering an LTS version, it's important to note that not all of them are created equal.
For example, AngularJS 1.x is no longer supported and is not receiving any updates, including security patches.
On the other hand, Angular 2+ LTS versions, such as Angular 19, and 20, are still receiving security updates and patches.
| Version | Status | Released | Active ends | LTS ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ^22.0.0 | Active | Jun 3, 2026 | TBA | TBA |
| ^21.0.0 | LTS | Nov 19, 2025 | Jun 3, 2026 | June 3, 2027 |
| ^20.0.0 | LTS | May 28, 2025 | Nov 21, 2025 | Nov 21, 2026 |
It's important to note that the risk of running outdated software versions applies not only to modern Angular (v19+) or old AngularJS (v1.x), but also to many other software programs and frameworks. Using outdated software always increases the chances of making your application vulnerable to security and user interaction issues. To ensure the safety and optimal performance of your application, it's crucial to check if your software that you rely on is supported, and keep your codebase up-to-date by making necessary updates regularly.
To prepare your Angular application for the Upgrade we recommend to follow this checklist:
- See Angular compatibility list
- Analyse 3d party dependencies
- Find out what’s affected
- Install desired versions
- Make code changes
- Modify tests accordingly
Angular runs on thousands of Apps within Google itself. To make developer’s jobs easier, the upgrade mechanism is provided as a part of Angular CLI.
The Angular Team's official recommendation is always to use the latest version of Angular, but this may be not possible or inconvenient for some companies due to dev team busyness, task complexity or company policy.
To help determine the most appropriate technical approach of Angular upgrade for your dev team, we are offering a range of upgrade strategies. While making a choice it is essential to understand the amount of technical debt that exists within the codebase:
- Incremental Upgrades: This strategy involves upgrading your application one version at a time, sequentially, until you reach v22. For example, if you're on v17, you'd move through v18, v19, v20, v21, and finally v22. The viability of this approach depends on your project's current state — it works best for codebases with little technical debt and a manageable version gap.
- Hybrid Upgrade: This strategy involves upgrading your application to a hybrid state, allowing for a gradual migration to the latest version by converting it in small increments. This approach can help to mitigate the risks of downtime during the upgrade process. Usually applies to the projects with moderate amounts of technical debt.
- Full rewrite: This is a green field strategy involving creating a new application with the latest version of Angular and then migrating your codebase to the new application. This approach can be time-consuming and challenging, but it can also ensure a clean slate and a fresh start for your application. It's recommended if your application has significant technical debt or if you're planning significant architectural changes.
Remember, whichever strategy you choose, it's important to thoroughly test your application after the upgrade to ensure it's functioning optimally.
Angular Consulting considers application upgrade to be an essential service and offers versatile modifications for it.
We provide integrated Angular Upgrade service for those clients who want to delegate the whole task to professionals. As a result they get a ready-made solution with the latest features and improvements to move the business forward.
The other option is Upgrade Strategy which may be a part of our Strategy service. This approach provides a forward-thinking perspective, considering your company's direction, technical operations, goals, and outcomes. It also may include a Software Testing Strategy part to ensure the software works as expected before releasing it to the end users.
Another option is a Migration to Angular service which provides a migration of your application to the latest version of Angular from any other framework. Given the current state of your software and your vision, we can offer an upgrade option that best suits your needs.
We believe our advice on how to keep up with Angular upgrades were useful and comprehensive. We tried to provide you with the best possible options and share practical advice. So be contemporary, consistent and may your application comply with the best approach!
This is an evergreen article. The current version is 22 It will be updated with each new Angular major version release.