Next.js 16: The Update That Finally Feels Built for Developers

Next.js 16 just dropped, and this is not a minor update. We’re talking Turbopack being stable, React Compiler built right in, routing that’s finally smart, and new caching APIs that genuinely solve problems. Let me walk you through the important features with examples and the breaking changes you need to know about.

I will never abandon my free readers:
Just for free Audience

Turbopack Has Finally Reached Stability

Turbopack has reached stability for both development and production. It’s the default bundler for all applications now. More than 50% of development sessions and 20% of production builds on Next.js 15.3+ are already running on Turbopack.

Want to stick with webpack? Just run:

next dev --webpack
next build --webpack

With Turbopack, you get:

• 2–5× faster production builds