Angular has made significant progress in recent years to improve runtime performance and simplify app structure. Developers can now create apps that load more quickly, operate more smoothly, and require less maintenance thanks to Angular Standalone Components and the new Signal API. This post will explain these capabilities, their significance, and how to combine them to create cutting-edge, lightning-fast Angular applications.

1. Standalone Components: What Are They?
In the past, each Angular component required to be a part of a NgModule.
However, you can create Standalone Components starting with Angular 14 and now fully stable with Angular 17+, so they don't need to be specified inside a module.

Example: Creating a Standalone Component
import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-dashboard',
  standalone: true,
  imports: [CommonModule],
  template: `<h2>Welcome to Dashboard!</h2>`
})
export class DashboardComponent {}

No @NgModule needed!
You can directly use this component in routing or even bootstrap it in main.ts.

2. Bootstrapping with Standalone Components
With standalone components, even your AppModule becomes optional.
Example:
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app/app.component';

bootstrapApplication(AppComponent)
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

That’s it no AppModule required!
This reduces overhead and speeds up the app’s initial load time.

3. Angular Signal API: The Game Changer
The Signal API, introduced in Angular 16+, is a powerful new way to manage reactive state without complex libraries like RxJS or NgRx.

Signals are reactive variables that automatically update the UI whenever their value changes.

Example: Simple Counter Using Signal
import { Component, signal } from '@angular/core';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-counter',
  standalone: true,
  template: `
    <h2>Count: {{ count() }}</h2>
    <button (click)="increment()">Increment</button>
  `
})
export class CounterComponent {
  count = signal(0);

  increment() {
    this.count.update(c => c + 1);
  }
}

No BehaviorSubject, no subscriptions just simple, reactive code.

4. How Signals Improve Performance
With traditional change detection, Angular re-renders components unnecessarily.
Signals fix this by using fine-grained reactivity — only updating parts of the UI that actually change.

This means:

• Less re-rendering
• Better performance
• Cleaner codebase

5. Combining Standalone Components and Signals
Together, Standalone Components and Signals make Angular apps simpler and more efficient.

Here’s an example of how both can be used in a real-world scenario like a Product Dashboard.
Example: Product Dashboard with Reactive State
import { Component, signal } from '@angular/core';
import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-product-dashboard',
  standalone: true,
  imports: [CommonModule],
  template: `
    <h1>Product Dashboard</h1>
    <input type="text" placeholder="Search product..." (input)="search($event)">
    <ul>
      <li *ngFor="let p of filteredProducts()">{{ p }}</li>
    </ul>
  `
})
export class ProductDashboardComponent {
  products = signal(['TV', 'Fridge', 'Laptop', 'Fan', 'Microwave']);
  filteredProducts = signal(this.products());

  search(event: any) {
    const keyword = event.target.value.toLowerCase();
    this.filteredProducts.set(
      this.products().filter(p => p.toLowerCase().includes(keyword))
    );
  }
}

Here:

• Signals manage product lists.
• Standalone Component keeps the code modular and fast.
• The UI updates instantly without manual subscriptions.

6. Flowchart: How It Works
Below is a simple visual flow for your blog (you can design this using Canva or draw.io):

User Action (e.g., Click or Input)
          ↓
 Signal Updates (state change)
          ↓
 Angular detects signal change
          ↓
 Component Re-renders (only affected part)
          ↓
 UI Updates Instantly

This shows how Signals streamline UI updates with minimal re-rendering.

7. Responsive UI Example with PrimeNG

Now let’s combine Angular + PrimeNG to make a clean, responsive dashboard.
Example UI Structure

-------------------------------------
| Header: App Title + Menu Button   |
-------------------------------------
| Sidebar |     Main Dashboard      |
|         |  - Charts               |
|         |  - Stats Cards          |
|         |  - Product List         |
-------------------------------------

PrimeNG Components Used:
p-card for summary boxes
p-table for data grids
p-chart for performance visualization
p-sidebar for navigation

Example Snippet
<p-sidebar [(visible)]="menuVisible">
  <h3>Menu</h3>
  <p>Dashboard</p>
  <p>Reports</p>
</p-sidebar>

<p-card header="Total Sales">
  <h2>{{ totalSales() | currency }}</h2>
</p-card>

<p-chart type="bar" [data]="chartData()"></p-chart>

Your app becomes lighter, more modular, and boots up more quickly as a result. This gives a smooth, mobile-friendly dashboard that responds instantly due to Signals.

8. Performance Comparison

9. Real-World Benefits

• Faster App Loading
• Simplified Codebase
• No Extra Libraries
• Better Reusability
• Improved UI Responsiveness

10. Conclusion
Angular is now quicker, lighter, and easier for developers to use thanks to Standalone Components and Signals. These capabilities allow you create contemporary, high-performance user interfaces with clear, reactive logic while streamlining structure and improving speed. Now is the ideal moment to update your Angular projects if you haven't already.