Next.js 16 in Production: What We Learned Shipping Real Client Projects

Next.js 16 landed late last year with a set of changes that looked, on paper, like mostly incremental improvements. Six months and five production client deployments later, we have a clearer picture of what actually shifted and where you still get tripped up. This is not a release notes recap — plenty of those exist. This is the honest production view from a small agency that has shipped it. Turbopack as the Default: Real Impact, Real Edges The loudest Next.js 16 change is Turbopack becoming the