Last year's prediction was that 2016 would focus on consolidation over innovation. Looking back, that's exactly what happened. React solidified position, Angular 2 shipped, tooling matured, and new frameworks emerged without fragmenting ecosystem completely.
2016 wasn't "everything changed again." It was "things settled."
Last year's post was titled "JavaScript in 2014: The Year Everything Changed (Again)." This year feels different. Not "everything changed again"—more "things settled into place." ES2015 shipped, React matured, patterns emerged. This was JavaScript growing up.
ES2015 (ES6) finalized in June. But unlike most standards, developers had been using it for months via Babel. The finalization formalized what was already practice.
The shift from "experimental features" to "standard language" matters psychologically. Teams that resisted transpiling because ES6 felt unstable are now adopting it. Babel moved from optional to essential infrastructure.