Next.js 15: Key Features and Updates

October 16, 2024 (2mo ago)

Next.js 15 Features

If you didn’t know, Next.js 15 is on the way,

And I expect they might announce it at the Next.js Conf next week, God willing.

This release brings a lot of new features, and here are a few things that caught my attention:

1. React 19 and React Compiler

First thing is the use of React 19 and the React Compiler, although they are still in beta.

2. Turbopack in Development

Second, it’s now possible to use Turbopack in development instead of webpack, which is definitely much faster. This part is particularly important for me because there was always a lot of lag, and that lag would increase as the project grew. For now, it will be optional and not the default.

3. Caching Changes

Third, regarding caching: many times, I’ve seen the current caching situation, where everything is cached by default. Sometimes this is an advantage, but often I saw it as a downside and disabled it manually. However, in this update, caching for fetch requests, GET routes, and client navigations will be disabled by default. I’m not sure what the impact will be, but it’s nice that this change was in response to feedback from developers using the framework.

4. Partial Pre-Rendering (PPR)

Fourth, the concept of Partial Pre-Rendering (PPR) allows you, as I understand it, to combine SSG and SSR on the same page. This means static parts load immediately, while dynamic parts update in the background, which is a huge leap for performance and user experience.

5. Next/After

Fifth, there’s Next/After, a method that lets you run certain code after a request is completed. With this new API, you can execute secondary tasks, like logging or analytics, in the background after receiving the response, significantly reducing page load times.

Read more about Next/After here.

6. Clearer Error Messages

Lastly, error messages have become clearer, especially with hydration issues between the server and client, which is definitely better than the confusing error messages we used to get.

These were the main things that caught my eye, and I wanted to share them. I think these are nice updates, and some of them could be real game-changers, like the first two.

In any case, we’re waiting for the next conference, where they will surely talk about them.

Small notes: