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.NET MAUI Features

.NET MAUI new features

.NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI) has matured into a stable, high-performance framework with deep native capabilities. Recent releases in .NET 9 and .NET 10 have focused on significant architectural overhauls, the integration of generative AI, and a cleaner developer experience through streamlined XAML and tooling.

1. Core Architectural & Performance Upgrades

  • Native AOT (Ahead-Of-Time) Compilation: Now fully supported for iOS and Mac Catalyst in .NET 9, Native AOT produces applications that are up to 2.5x smaller with 2x faster startup times. It compiles code directly into native binary format, reducing runtime overhead significantly.
  • XAML Source Generation: .NET 10 introduced a new XAML source generator that converts XAML into strongly-typed C# code at compile time. This removes the need for runtime XAML parsing, leading to better build performance and improved IntelliSense support.
  • Optimized Handlers: The framework has overhauled how control handlers disconnect from native views. In .NET 9, handlers automatically disconnect to prevent memory leaks, with a new DisconnectPolicy allowing developers to choose between manual and automatic cleanup.
  • Multi-Window Evolution: MAUI has moved toward being a "truly multi-window framework." MainPage is now deprecated in favor of overriding CreateWindow, allowing apps to manage multiple independent windows on supported platforms like Windows, macOS, and iPadOS more naturally.

2. New Controls and UI Enhancements

  • HybridWebView Control: A powerful addition that allows developers to host a Single Page Application (SPA) built with React, Vue.js, or Angular inside a MAUI container. It enables seamless two-way communication between JavaScript and C#/.NET code.
  • Desktop-First Features:
    • TitleBar: A new Windows-specific control allows hosting custom buttons, search bars, or other elements directly in the application's top title bar.
    • Secondary Toolbar Items: iOS and macOS now support grouping toolbar items into a secondary "overflow" menu, following modern platform design guidelines.
  • AI-Powered Components: The ecosystem has seen a surge in AI integration. Third-party providers like Syncfusion have released "Smart" controls, including a Smart DataGrid and Smart Scheduler that use natural language prompts for sorting, filtering, and conflict detection.
  • Control Tweaks: Many base controls have been improved, such as the TimePicker gaining a TimeSelected event and Entry supporting new specialized keyboard modes for passwords, dates, and times.

3. Streamlined Developer Experience

  • Implicit and Global XAML Namespaces: In .NET 10, the "boilerplate" code at the top of XAML files is drastically reduced. Developers can now define global namespaces in a single C# file, allowing them to drop redundant xmlns and xmlns:x lines from individual pages for much cleaner markup.
  • Native Library Interop: Introduced in late 2024, this simplified approach allows linking native Xcode or Android Studio projects directly into a MAUI app without complex manual binding projects.
  • Workload Sets: Developers now have granular control over framework versions using Workload Sets, which allow pinning specific versions for a project to ensure consistency across different development environments and CI/CD pipelines.
  • Visual Studio Tooling: Hot Reload has been refined to work more reliably across all platforms, and new diagnostic infrastructure allows for detailed layout performance tracking via ActivitySource and metrics.

4. Summary of Major Deprecations

To modernize the framework, several older components are being phased out in .NET 10 in favor of more efficient alternatives:

  • ListView and TableView: Deprecated; developers should use the more performant CollectionView.
  • Frame: Deprecated in favor of the more flexible Border control.
  • MessagingCenter: Replaced by the WeakReferenceMessenger from the MVVM Community Toolkit.
  • Async Animation Methods: Methods like FadeTo or ScaleTo have been replaced by their Async equivalents (e.g., FadeToAsync) to better align with .NET's Task-based asynchronous patterns.

This evolution represents a shift from "getting it to work" in the early days of MAUI to "making it efficient and enterprise-ready"

🚀 New Features in .NET MAUI

Performance Improvements

  • ⚡ Faster startup times with NativeAOT and improved garbage collection.
  • 📦 Smaller app sizes thanks to IL stripping and package trimming.
  • 🔄 Optimized memory management for smoother mobile experiences.

Cross-Platform Enhancements

  • 🌍 Unified single-project targeting Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.
  • 🖥️ Better integration with platform SDKs (Xcode, Android SDK, WinUI).
  • 🔧 Improved Shell navigation with URI-based routes.

UI and Controls

  • 🧩 New DataGrid with advanced filtering and validation.
  • 📅 Smart Scheduler and Smart Text Editor powered by AI.
  • 🎨 Modern UI effects like Liquid Glass for iOS and Mac Catalyst.
  • 📊 Interactive charts with richer visualization options.

Developer Productivity

  • 🛠️ Enhanced tooling in Visual Studio for debugging and hot reload.
  • 🔗 Expanded support for NuGet packages and community contributions.
  • 📖 Simplified migration paths from Xamarin.Forms and WPF.

Summary

.NET MAUI continues to evolve with a focus on speed, smarter controls, and cross-platform reach. These features make building modern apps faster, lighter, and more engaging.

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