9 actionable upgrades in Next.js 16 you can ship this week

1) Turn on Cache Components

Enable the explicit caching model backed by Partial Pre‑Rendering. Opt in with a single flag and use tags for granular invalidation.

Tip: Add cacheComponents: true to next.config.ts, then use tags to invalidate specific data.

2) Adopt the refined caching APIs

Use tag-based invalidation with read-your-writes semantics via updateTag(), and SWR-style background refresh via revalidateTag().
Docs: https://nextjs.org/docs/app/building-your-application/caching

3) Migrate middleware to proxy.ts

proxy.ts replaces middleware.ts and runs on the Node runtime. Keep it minimal: redirects, rewrites, and headers. This simplifies request handling and reduces surprises in edge cases.

4) Turbopack everywhere

Next.js 16 uses Turbopack by default for dev and builds. Remove legacy flags and consider filesystem caching for large repos. Expect noticeably faster HMR and builds.

5) Leaner navigations by default

Routing improvements dedupe shared layouts and prefetch incrementally. You don’t need code changes for the wins—just verify your analytics and prefetch patterns still behave as expected.

6) Async params everywhere

Async Request APIs are enforced. Ensure params, headers, cookies, and draftMode are awaited in server files so you don’t accidentally break rendering when upgrading.

7) Consider React Compiler (opt‑in)

Enable it for hot paths to reduce re-renders. Measure build-time costs vs runtime wins. Start small, benchmark, then expand.