FAQs

What is .NET MAUI?

.NET MAUI is the Multi-platform App UI for building native cross-platform apps with .NET for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. It is the evolution of Xamarin.Forms, taking its place as the .NET solution for building native cross-platform apps.

When will .NET MAUI be available?

We expect to begin shipping previews near the end of 2020. .NET MAUI will hit general availability (GA) in November 2021 when .NET 6 ships.

Will .NET MAUI support XAML and MVVM?

Absolutely! As an evolution of Xamarin.Forms, you will be able to use all XAML with all its existing features and we will continue to improve XAML to help you be even more productive. .NET MAUI will continue to support MVVM while providing developers options to use RxUI and MVU.

What is the future of Xamarin.Forms?

The next major version of Xamarin.Forms will around September 2020 and continue to be updated through the release of .NET MAUI with .NET 6. After that, Xamarin.Forms will continue to receive priority servicing for 12 months.

Should I upgrade my Xamarin.Forms applications to .NET MAUI?

Initially, we recommend you explore .NET MAUI on new projects. We are working to make the transition from existing projects as seamless as possible as you will enjoy project system improvements, a new .NET, and a new renderer architecture in .NET MAUI.

Why is Xamarin.Forms becoming .NET MAUI?

We are unifying the .NET platform! As with all key workloads and runtimes of .NET, we are closely integrating Xamarin.Forms and Xamarin.Essentials, and the Android, iOS, and macOS bindings into .NET. This is clearly illustrated by the namespace changes: Xamarin.Forms becomes System.Maui and Xamarin.Essentials becomes System.Devices.

What is MVU?

MVU stands for Model-View-Update, an application architecture popular in the Elm programming language and first demonstrated as a powerful option for Xamarin.Forms in the F# implementation, Fabulous. Due to the single flow of state in this architecture, things like hot reload become much easier to fully implement.

Do I have to use MVU?

Not at all! You have a choice to use what makes you most productive and makes the most sense for your application, whether that's MVVM, MVU, or another architecture of your choice. The same goes for XAML and C#, both are fully supported ways to build the UI for your apps.

What is RxUI?

RxUI stands for ReactiveUI, a functional and reactive MVVM framework for building .NET applications.

Will .NET MAUI automatically generate all of the iOS and Android images based on a single image?

It will resize your Image assets to 2x, 3x, HDPI, XHDPI, etc., similar to the Resizetizer NuGet Package

Will .NET MAUI allow deployment of one code base across iPhone, Android, Windows Desktop, macOS Desktop and Linux?

Yes, checkout this chart in the README to see the supported platforms.

What flavor of XAML will be supported by .NET MAUI

We'll continue to use the same XAML that we know and love from Xamarin.Forms.

How will .NET MAUI affect existing Xamarin Plugins developed by the community?

To target it, NuGet Packages will need to add a dependency to .NET 6 and reference the new System.Maui namespaces.

Will .NET MAUI and Blazor be unified?

Stay tuned! No official plans yet, but we're looking into the possibility.

Will .NET MAUI allow you to break out into Native UI when needed?

Yes, it leverages Multitargeting which allows us to reference platform-specific APIs in our unified .NET MAUI project

For new developers, should we start building apps with .NET MAUI?

Today, continue using Xamarin.Forms because MAUI won't be available until the preview of .NET 6 is released later this year

What can we expect as far as performance improvements with .NET MAUI?

Slim Renderers will bring performance improvements and standardize renderers across all platforms