Build Modern.NET MAUI Apps with.NET 11 — Webinar Show Notes Summary

This webinar covered the practical changes in.NET MAUI arriving with.NET 11 and how developers should approach upgrading and applying the new features. It focuses on runtime, UI tooling, performance options, navigation and platform features, Syncfusion control updates, and developer productivity improvements.

ReadyToRun and Native AOT are available options with tradeoffs:

• ReadyToRun: reduces runtime JIT work and often improves startup at the cost of larger binaries.
• Native AOT: can deliver faster startup and smaller runtime footprints but requires addressing trimming compatibility and resolving warnings.

Measure performance for your scenarios before choosing a path. Benchmark startup times, app size, and critical runtime behaviors on target devices.

XAML and developer workflow improvements

.NET 11 moves significant XAML work to source generation, reducing allocations and improving performance. New capabilities include:

• XAML incremental Hot Reload to update UI faster during edits.
• C# expressions in XAML to avoid trivial converters and reduce boilerplate.
• Lazy-loading options for resources to cut memory usage and speed initial load.

These changes shorten the edit-compile-debug loop and reduce common XAML overheads.

Navigation, gestures, and platform UI updates

Navigation received updates: Shell route templates, tab badges, and guidance for Shell, TabbedPage, and navigation choices. Gesture support expanded with long-press and improved swipe styling. Platform-specific improvements include improved safe-area handling, edge-to-edge options, and light/dark splash screen themes.

Maps gained features like pin clustering. Security added passkey-based, passwordless authentication support. Android-focused updates include Material 3 support and modern splash screen theming.

Syncfusion demonstrated new or updated controls: GridSplitter for resizable layouts, InteractiveViewer for pan/zoom content, chart tooltip improvements, and updated SwipeView styling. The Syncfusion.NET MAUI Toolkit has been updated to leverage.NET 11 workflows and controls were shown in live demos.

CLI, testing, and AI-assisted development

CLI improvements (.NET Run,.NET Watch) and testing support were highlighted to speed development cycles. The webinar showed examples of using AI-assisted flows in development tasks and discussed MAUI Dev Flow and MAUI Sherpa resources.

Upgrade checklist (practical steps)

• Retarget projects to.NET 11 and run full device tests.

• Run the app with trimming enabled to resolve Native AOT warnings.
• Update and test third-party libraries for CoreCLR compatibility.
• Adopt XAML incremental Hot Reload and C# expressions in XAML to reduce boilerplate.
• Evaluate Syncfusion control updates if you use the toolkit.

.NET 11 introduces runtime, tooling, and control updates that reduce development friction and offer multiple deployment options. Treat the upgrade as both a framework and runtime migration: test broadly, measure performance, and resolve trimming and compatibility issues proactively.