Title: Exploring the Transition from React Version 17 to Version 18: What’s New and Improved

Sahil Sachdev
2 min readFeb 17, 2024

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React, the popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces, continues to evolve with each new version, introducing enhancements, optimisations, and new features. With the release of React version 18, developers can expect significant improvements and changes aimed at enhancing developer experience, performance, and scalability. Let’s delve into the key changes from React version 17 to version 18:

  1. Concurrent Rendering as the Default: React 18 introduces concurrent rendering as the default mode, enabling smoother user interactions and better responsiveness by prioritizing high-priority updates. This change enhances the overall performance of React applications, especially those with complex UIs and interactions.
  2. New Root API: React 18 introduces a new root API (createRoot) that simplifies the process of creating and managing multiple independent React roots within a single application. This API improves code organization and makes it easier to manage large-scale applications with multiple entry points.
  3. Automatic Batching of State Updates: In React 18, state updates are automatically batched by default, reducing unnecessary re-renders and improving performance. This change simplifies the management of state updates and ensures more predictable rendering behavior across components.
  4. Improved Suspense API: The Suspense API, introduced in React 17, receives further enhancements in version 18, making it easier to manage asynchronous data fetching, code splitting, and lazy loading. The improved Suspense API simplifies error handling and provides better support for managing loading states in React applications.
  5. Experimental Features: React 18 introduces several experimental features and APIs that enable developers to experiment with cutting-edge technologies and patterns. These experimental features, such as concurrent mode and server components, provide insights into the future direction of React and empower developers to build more efficient and scalable applications.
  6. Developer Tools Enhancements: React developer tools receive updates and enhancements in version 18, providing developers with better insights into component performance, state management, and debugging. The improved developer tools streamline the development process and facilitate better optimization of React applications.
  7. Backwards Compatibility: React 18 maintains backwards compatibility with existing React applications and libraries, ensuring that upgrades are smooth and seamless. Developers can gradually adopt new features and APIs introduced in React 18 without disrupting existing codebases.
  8. Community Contributions and Feedback: React 18 reflects the collective efforts of the React community, incorporating feedback, contributions, and suggestions from developers worldwide. The collaborative nature of React development ensures that the library continues to evolve in response to the needs and challenges faced by developers.

As developers embrace React version 18, they can leverage its new features, optimizations, and APIs to build more efficient, scalable, and interactive user interfaces. By staying updated with the latest advancements in React, developers can unlock new possibilities and deliver exceptional user experiences in their applications.

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