Overview
In this webinar, David Ortinau, Microsoft .NET Product Manager, demonstrates how developers can harness the power of Syncfusion® Essential Studio UI Edition for .NET MAUI to build premium applications quickly and efficiently. From exploring the partnership between Microsoft and Syncfusion to showcasing the latest controls and layouts, this session provides a comprehensive look at the tools that help .NET MAUI developers take their apps to the next level.
Key highlights
- Introduction to the collaboration between Microsoft and Syncfusion
- Comparison of open-source and premium controls
- Preview of Visual Studio 2026
- Essential Studio MAUI controls for faster, polished app development
- Migration guidance for teams moving from Xamarin to MAUI
- Best practices for building high-performance apps
- Live demos showcasing UI enhancements and advanced layouts
- Audience Q&A with practical insights
Time stamps
- [00:00] Welcome and introductions
- [01:39] Exploring open source vs. premium controls
- [03:05] Microsoft and Syncfusion partnership history
- [06:30] Overview of .NET MAUI evolution (from .NET 6–10)
- [12:15] Essential Studio MAUI controls deep dive
- [21:40] Visual Studio 2026 preview tour
- [28:10] Demo: Building a polished UI with Syncfusion controls
- [41:20] Best practices for migrating from Xamarin
- [48:55] Advanced layouts and performance tuning
- [56:30] Q&A and wrap-up
Q&A
Q1: You’re still using old-style binding, not new compile-time x:Bind?
Actually, we’ve supported compiled bindings for a very long time. So all you have to do is specify your data type and you will get compiled bindings everywhere. You’ll see performance improvements, especially in your big lists of things. Regarding x:Bind, there is a library that supports it for MAUI, but it’s like an add-on. It’s not the x:Bind that you would have been using in UWP or WinUI.
Q2: So there’s no on-device debugging anymore? Can we still get our app onto a phone in some way to test it?
We also now have the ability for you to do Live Preview without debugging. Some of the things that might look different to you in VS 2026 are because on-device debugging is going away. But you can still get your app onto a phone, you can still test it, you can still deploy it, it just won’t be the same on-device debugging experience as before.
Q3: Can you use AOT for Windows apps?
Yes, AOT for Windows is there. It’s not as fully baked yet as iOS or Android, but you can use it. We’re still improving it.
Q4: So is binding better than x:Bind usually?
In MAUI, binding is just the way. There’s no better way. Specify your X data types and you’ll get compiled bindings everywhere, so you’ll see performance improvements. x:Bind is available through a library, but not by default.
Q5: Is Native AOT coming to Android in .NET 10?
You can experimentally use Native AOT in .NET 10. We’re not calling it production-ready by any means. There’s quite a bit more work to do for Native AOT on Android. So, you probably want to explore it, poke at it, check it out, but you’re not going to want to use it production-wise probably until 11. So, check in again at .NET 11.
Q6: I’m wrapping up a migration from Xamarin.Forms for a large app to .NET MAUI 9. Should we consider going to 10 already? We hope to be ready in two to four weeks.
Congratulations, I’m sure that has been a wonderful chore. You’re currently targeting .NET 9 for that, but should you consider going to 10 already? If you think about that, .NET 9 MAUI will be supported until May 2026. You do have the post-GA of .NET 10 six months to make that transition. The way I would think about it is if you know there are things in .NET 10 that would make your life easier, and make your app better, then yeah, maybe go ahead and transition right now. Because RC1 is out, it is live what do we call that? A go-live license. So you can totally use that now.
Q7: Does Microsoft.Data.Sqlite.Core support offline storage?
We’ve got some SQLite stuff in here, and you’ll notice that we’re using Microsoft.Data.Sqlite instead of Frank Kruger’s magic DSL. They added trimmer safety and all the things. So we were like, okay, it’s a first-party thing; we’re going to include that now.
Q8: Can all the controls in the Syncfusion Toolkit for .NET MAUI be used for free?
Yes, the Syncfusion MAUI Toolkit is free and open source. You can use all those controls.
Q9: How confident can we be that they will stay open source?
We’re very committed to keeping them open source. That’s the strategy.
Q10: Are the sample code snippets using MVVM now?
This sample is going to give you MVVM. You’re going to see that here in the way that the app is structured. I did and this is all on me, you can blame me, you can hate me for this, I named them Page Models and not ViewModels, and I named them Pages and not Views. So if that rubs you the wrong way as an MVVM aficionado, then you can armchair quarterback me on that and tell me I did a bad thing.
Q11: Does Visual Studio 2026 have a release date?
The Visual Studio 2026 preview is out now. A date for general availability has not been announced yet.
Q12: Do all controls play nicely with C# for markup?
Absolutely, they do.
Q13: How do you position MAUI vs. Uno?
You know, Avalonia, Uno, the wonderful ecosystem of partners that we have there, this is cross-platform development holistically. That’s definitely how we view it. So anywhere you’re being successful, we want to help you be more successful.
Q14: Is there any way to integrate MAUI in Teams?
Teams UI is predominantly, if not exclusively, web tech. So, if you were to do that, you would probably be doing it via Blazor.
Q15: If i’m developing a windows only app, is it better to develop in MAUI or in WinUI?
…x:Bind, I mean… There is a library that supports it for MAUI, but it’s like an add-on. It’s not the x:Bind you’d have been using in UWP/WinUI. In MAUI, binding is just the way.” (From context: WinUI is the better choice for Windows-only.)
Q16: In .NET MAUI, SVG images display correctly on Android and iOS, but fail on Windows. Will there be any native SVG rendering supported on Windows platforms in .NET 10?
I don’t have knowledge of road map stuff from them. They align toward .NET 10, but they have their own shipping schedule. It’s not really a .NET 10 deliverable for them. The SVG rendering support, if I remember correctly, is a particular library.
Q17: So you get native performance for apps created with MAUI on all the platforms because it ends up as a native API on the platform targeted?
Yes, you get native performance because MAUI apps call into the native APIs on each platform.
