React 16 Roadmap: Upcoming Features and Release Timeline

We plan to roll out new React features in the following milestones:

React 16.6 : Suspense component for code‑splitting (already released).

React 16.7 : React Hooks (~Q1 2019).

React 16.8 : Concurrent Mode (~Q2 2019).

React 16.9 : Suspense with data fetching (~mid‑2019).

These dates are estimates and may change; at least two of these projects are expected to ship in 2019.

Additional exploratory work includes modernizing the React DOM and building a server‑rendering version of Suspense, though no concrete release dates are set yet.

Suspense (React 16.6) allows React to “suspend” rendering while a component loads, showing a fallback UI. In this version it only works with React.lazy() and <React.Suspense> for lazy‑loaded components.

React 16.7 introduces Hooks , enabling state and lifecycle features in function components without extra nesting, and allowing reuse of stateful logic across components.

Hooks are available in React 16.7 alpha via react@next and react-dom@next . They are also supported in React DOM Server (alpha) but not yet in React Native.

Concurrent Mode (React 16.8) renders component trees without blocking the main thread, improving responsiveness and allowing high‑priority events to interrupt rendering. It also enhances the user experience of Suspense.

While Concurrent Mode is experimental, it can be tried by wrapping parts of the UI in <React.StrictMode> and addressing any warnings.

Suspense for Data Fetching (React 16.9) aims to let Suspense handle asynchronous data loading, with a reference implementation of “React Cache” and integration points for libraries like Apollo and Relay.

Until the data‑fetching API stabilizes, we recommend using <React.Suspense> only for code‑splitting.

Recommendations:

For client‑side rendering, use React.lazy() and <React.Suspense> for code splitting.

For server‑side rendering, wait for the upcoming async server renderer.

Experiment with Hooks if you’re ready, but avoid rewriting existing class components unless planned.

Other ongoing projects include simplifying and modernizing the React DOM to reduce bundle size, and designing a new server renderer that supports Suspense without double‑rendering.

Overall, the roadmap provides a clear view of upcoming React capabilities and how they will evolve across the DOM, server, and native environments.