.NET MAUI 10 Preview 6: What's New and Improved

On July 15th, Microsoft released the sixth preview of .NET MAUI in .NET 10, bringing new features and improvements to boost developer productivity and framework performance. This preview focuses on refining existing controls like MediaPicker, WebView, and HybridWebView, along with updates and stability fixes for platform-specific code.

MAUI, which stands for Multiplatform Application UI, is an evolution of Xamarin and Xamarin Forms frameworks, consolidating separate target libraries and projects into a single project for multiple devices. Currently, MAUI supports Android 5+, iOS 12.2+, macOS 12+ (as Mac Catalyst), Samsung Tizen, Windows 10 version 1809+, or Windows 11. Preview 6 adds support for Android API levels 35 and 36.

One highlight in this release is the MediaPicker control enhancement, allowing developers to select multiple files and compress images directly through the API using MaximumWidth and MaximumHeight parameters. This simplifies media file handling within applications, streamlining user-generated content management.

Another notable addition is the capability to intercept and respond to web requests from BlazorWebView and HybridWebView controls, enabling developers to modify headers, redirect requests, or provide local responses for better control over web content.

Performance and stability improvements in this preview include fixes and enhancements to controls like CollectionView, CarouselView, and SearchBar, offering more reliable performance across platforms. Memory leak in CarouselViewHandler2 on iOS has been fixed, enhancing application stability. The Switch control now uses the native default 'on' color when OnColor property is not set, ensuring a consistent user interface.

This preview marks a milestone towards the final release of .NET MAUI in .NET 10. The next preview, .NET MAUI 10 Preview 7, is expected on August 1st. Developers are encouraged to explore the new features and provide feedback to shape the future of .NET MAUI. For complete release notes, readers can refer to the official MAUI repository on GitHub.