Microsoft has released Preview 11 of .NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI), the cross-platform framework designed for building native mobile and desktop applications. This update introduces notable enhancements, most prominently including support for Windows 11 UI styling and the ability to create multi-window applications. With this release, .NET MAUI continues to build on its evolution from Xamarin.Forms, offering developers the tools they need to build apps for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows using C# and XAML.
One of the key highlights of .NET MAUI Preview 11 is its support for the Windows 11 UI, which is based on the Fluent Design System. The update includes improvements to essential controls like Button, Entry, and Editor, ensuring they align with the new visual guidelines set by Windows 11. This brings a modern and consistent look to applications that run on the latest version of Windows, reflecting updates in Fluent and ensuring that .NET MAUI stays in sync with the evolving platform standards.
In addition to UI enhancements, .NET MAUI Preview 11 introduces a major new feature: multi-window support. This allows developers to create applications that can manage multiple windows, a significant upgrade from the previous capabilities in Xamarin.Forms. The new Application.Current.Windows property provides easy access to all windows created within the app. However, this feature is still in the experimental phase and is tied to the Windows App SDK implementation, with further improvements expected in future releases.
The update also brings several behind-the-scenes changes that aim to streamline the development experience. Templates for ContentPage and ContentView have been updated to support new C# 10 patterns like implicit usings and file-scraped namespaces. Additionally, Apple-related SDKs have been updated to use native nint and nuint types in .NET 6, replacing the older System.nint and System.nuint types. Developers working with iOS, macOS, and tvOS apps will need to recompile their code for .NET 6 to adopt these changes. Alongside these features, Microsoft has released new documentation to guide developers through the latest updates and best practices for building applications with .NET MAUI.