1. Cache Components (New Caching Model)

Next.js introduces Cache Components, a new opt-in caching system powered by the use cache directive. It offers explicit control over component, page, and function caching—finishing the transition toward Partial Prerendering.

Enable it:

export default {
  cacheComponents: true,
};

2. Next.js DevTools MCP

A new AI-assisted debugging experience using the Model Context Protocol. DevTools now gives AI agents:

• Routing and rendering insights
• Unified browser + server logs
• Automatic error context
• Awareness of the active page

Ideal for accelerating troubleshooting.

3. proxy.ts Replaces middleware.ts

Next.js 16 introduces proxy.ts to clarify the network boundary and standardize request interception on the Node.js runtime.

export default function proxy(request) {
  return NextResponse.redirect(new URL('/home', request.url));
}

4. Turbopack Is Now the Default

Turbopack is fully stable and the default bundler for all apps.

Performance gains:

• 2–5× faster builds
• Up to 10× faster Fast Refresh

Filesystem caching for development is also available in beta.

5. Updated Caching APIs

Three new or improved APIs make cache control clearer:

• revalidateTag(tag, profile) — explicit stale-while-revalidate behavior
• updateTag() — instant read-your-writes for Server Actions
• refresh() — refresh uncached data after mutations

6. Enhanced Routing & Prefetching

Navigation is significantly faster due to:

• Layout deduplication
• Incremental prefetching
• Smarter cache usage

Less data transferred, smoother transitions.