Here is a look at why MATLAB 2016 (specifically the "b" release) still matters today, what it got right, and where it shows its age. Let’s start with the big one. If you use MATLAB 2016b, you are using the version that introduced Implicit Expansion .
C = A - B; If you are maintaining legacy code, spotting bsxfun is the immediate tell that the script was written before the 2016b paradigm shift. This single update simplified code readability immensely. Visually, 2016 looks like a "Modern Classic." It was the immediate successor to the 2014 ribbon-style layout. You have the Current Folder, Workspace, and Command Window docked in a dark gray theme (no dark mode, unfortunately—that’s a 2023 feature). matlab 2016
If you have been in the engineering or academic world for the last decade, you have likely bumped into a .fig file or a .m script that just refuses to run on the latest version of MATLAB. Here is a look at why MATLAB 2016
