Angular State Management: Signals vs Simple Properties - Which Should I Use?

Source: Dev.to

The Classic Approach: Simple Properties

export class UserComponent {
  userName: string = 'Mohamed';
  userAge: number = 24;

  updateName(newName: string) {
    this.userName = newName; // Simple assignment
  }
}

Pros

• Straightforward, familiar, easy to understand

Cons

• Change detection can be inefficient with large component trees

The New Kid: Signals (Angular 16+)

import { signal } from '@angular/core';

export class UserComponent {
  userName = signal('Mohamed');
  userAge = signal(24);

  updateName(newName: string) {
    this.userName.set(newName); // Signal update
  }
}

Pros

• Fine‑grained reactivity
• Better performance
• Cleaner derived state

Cons

• More verbose syntax
• Learning curve for existing codebases

My Confusion (and Questions for You!)

Typical Scenarios

• User authentication state (logged‑in user, token, permissions)
• Real‑time notifications (WebSocket updates)
• Form state (post creation, validation)

Questions for Experienced Angular Developers

• Do you mix both approaches in the same project, or go all‑in on Signals?
• Are Signals worth adopting for new projects in 2026?
• What’s your rule of thumb for deciding which to use?

Questions for Those Migrating from Properties to Signals

• Did you see real performance improvements?
• Was the migration painful?

I’d love to hear your real‑world experiences and recommendations! Drop your thoughts in the comments.

Tags: angular webdev javascript typescript frontend discuss