History

The history of the Multi-Platform App User Interface (MAUI) is closely tied to the evolution of Xamarin and the introduction of .NET Core.

Xamarin

Founded in 2011, Xamarin aimed to make mobile app development more accessible and efficient by allowing developers to write a single C#/.NET codebase and deploy it across multiple platforms such as iOS and Android.

.NET Core

Released in 2019, .NET Core is an open, cross-platform version of the .NET Framework, enabling developers to run .NET on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

.NET MAUI

Introduced in 2022, .NET MAUI is a cross-platform framework for building native mobile and desktop apps with C# and XAML, evolving from Xamarin.Forms and extending into desktop scenarios.

The transition from Xamarin to .NET MAUI represented a significant architectural shift, integrating the framework into the broader .NET ecosystem and addressing many historical Xamarin challenges. By 2025, .NET MAUI had made substantial progress in desktop support and platform-specific integrations, distinguishing itself from mobile-focused alternatives.

Fig. 4.1. .NET Multi-platform App UI documentation

For more information: .NET Multi-Platform App User Interface Documentation.