Xamarin to .NET MAUI Migration: Essential Steps for Seamless Transition

The end of Xamarin support from Microsoft in May 2024 pulls an opportunity for enterprises to adopt the future of cross-platform development with .NET MAUI.

This modern framework is designed to enhance the development experience by providing a unified project structure that simplifies the management of cross-platform applications. Whereas Xamarin.Forms required separate projects for each platform. .NET MAUI allows developers to maintain a single codebase for multiple platforms. This transition streamlines the development process, improves performance, and reduces maintenance costs.

This blog post explores the essential steps for successfully Xamarin.Forms to .NET MAUI migration. It explores the detailed advantages of the new framework and provides practical guidance for a smooth migration process.

Table of Contents:

• Why Do You Need to Migrate from Xamarin to .NET MAUI?
• Xamarin to .NET MAUI Migration: Pre-Migration Checklist
• Best Ways for Seamless Migration from Xamarin to.NET MAUI
• A Step-by-Step Roadmap for Xamarin to .NET MAUI Migration
• Benefits of Xamarin to .NET MAUI Migration
• Why Choose Us as Your Trusted Partner for .NET MAUI Migration?
• Frequently Asked Questions

Multiplatform Application UI is the future of cross-platform development. It is more modern and offers access to the latest .NET features and libraries. Understanding the key differences and comparison of Xamarin vs .NET MAUI is crucial for businesses and developers to realize the compelling reasons for pursuing migration. There are several important reasons to consider migrating from Xamarin to .NET MAUI:

• Future support: As Microsoft seeks to unify its development platforms under .NET 6 and later versions, migrating to .NET MAUI futureproofs your app. You can rest assured that the apps will be supported and stay updated in the future. It is also designed to be more modern and integrated with the .NET ecosystem while expanding capabilities for cross-platform development.
• Unified development: It provides a single project structure for all platforms, simplifying development and maintenance.
• Access to latest features: This modern framework gives access to newer .NET features and capabilities unavailable in Xamarin.
• Improved tooling: Better integration with Visual Studio and other development tools.
• Wider platform support: As a successor of Xamarin, .NET MAUI extends beyond mobile to desktop platforms like Windows and macOS. Since it is open-source, .NET MAUI is more accessible to developers and a larger community for support.

Here’s a migration readiness checklist that will help you ensure an efficient .NET MAUI migration, which allows you to take full advantage of the new capabilities and improved performance of the modern framework:

Assess Project Compatibility

Review your existing Xamarin.Forms codebase for compatibility issues with .NET MAUI and identify any custom renderers or platform-specific code that may need adjustments. You may utilize .NET Upgrade Assistant or other specific tools, such as Visual Studio’s built-in analyzer or .NUGet package explorer to help identify potential issues. Additionally, review and update third-party libraries and NuGet packages for .NET MAUI compatibility.

Familiarize with .NET MAUI

Understand the new project structure and features of .NET MAUI, including the single project approach and enhanced performance capabilities.

Backup Your Project

Create a complete backup of your Xamarin project and utilize version control systems like Git to track changes and facilitate rollback if needed.

Plan Your Migration Strategy

Develop a strategy for incremental migration to allow easier troubleshooting and testing, ensuring you validate functionality throughout the process. Establish performance benchmarks of your Xamarin.Forms app before migration to allow for post-migration comparison.

Update Development Environment

Ensure you have the latest version of Visual Studio installed with the .NET MAUI workload and verify that all necessary SDKs for your target platforms are up to date.

Review UI and UX Designs

Examine your existing UI designs and adapt them to utilize .NET MAUI’s new controls and layouts, ensuring a responsive design across various screen sizes.

Prepare for Testing

Set up emulators and physical devices to test the migrated application on all target platforms and update any automated tests to align with the new NET MAUI structure.

Documentation and Resources

Collect relevant documentation and migration guides from Microsoft and the broader community. Engage with community forums for support and insights during the migration process.

There are two primary methods to migrate Xamarin to MAUI seamlessly. Let’s give you an overview of each of these:

Manual Migration

This method involves manually converting your entire Xamarin project structure and codebase to .NET MAUI. While it can be time-consuming, it gives developers complete control over the migration process. Key steps include updating project structures, namespaces, and dependencies and addressing any breaking API changes. This approach is beneficial for complex applications that require fine-tuning during the transition.

Automated Migration

Automated migration utilizes tools like the .NET Upgrade Assistant. This tool streamlines the migration process by automatically handling necessary updates, such as converting project files to the new SDK-style format and updating dependencies.

The process offers numerous benefits, including improved performance, and access to the latest .NET features. This roadmap provides a clear path for enterprises to smoothly migrate from Xamarin to MAUI while minimizing disruption to existing projects.

Step 1: Create a New .NET MAUI Project

At the outset, assess the complexity of your Xamarin.Forms app and identifies the usage of third-party libraries while also checking their .NET MAUI compatibility. Begin by creating a new .NET MAUI project. This can serve as a reference for the structure and configuration needed in your migrated application.

Step 2: Update Project Files

1. Convert Project Files: Change the project files from the old Xamarin.Forms format to the new .NET SDK-style format. This involves modifying the `.csproj` files to include necessary properties and dependencies for .NET MAUI. Update the TargetFrameworks to include the new .NET MAUI targets (net7.0-android, net7.0-ios, and others.)
2. Update Namespaces: Replace all instances of `Xamarin.Forms` with `Microsoft.Maui.Controls`. This includes updating XAML namespaces from `http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms` to `http://schemas.microsoft.com/dotnet/2021/maui`. Change Xamarin.Forms.Xaml to Microsoft. Maui.Controls.Xaml
3. NuGet Package Updates: Update all NuGet packages to their .NET MAUI equivalents. For example, if you were using `DevExpress.XamarinForms.Charts`, switch to `DevExpress.Maui.Charts.

Step 3: Address Breaking Changes

.NET MAUI introduces several breaking changes compared to Xamarin.Forms. Key changes include:

• Layout Changes: The `StackLayout` has been replaced with `VerticalStackLayout` and `HorizontalStackLayout`. While `RelativeLayout` is no longer available, using `Grid` is recommended instead.
• Custom Renderers: While custom renderers are still supported for backward compatibility, it is advisable to transition to using handlers and mappers for better performance and maintainability.
• Main Application Structure: Update the `MainActivity` for Android and `AppDelegate` for iOS to match the configurations in .NET MAUI. Implement the new MauiProgram class to initialize your application. Referencing a newly created MAUI project can help clarify these differences.

Step 4: Update Resource Management and Platform-Specific Functionality

• Resource Management: Transition from using Resource.designer.cs to MauiProgram.cs for resource management. Update how resources like images and fonts are referenced and used in your application.
• Platform-Specific Functionality: Move from using DependencyService to .NET MAUI Handlers and .NET MAUI Essentials. This change affects how you access platform-specific APIs and functionality.

Step 5: Use the .NET Upgrade Assistant

Utilize the .NET Upgrade Assistant CLI tool to automate parts of the migration process. This tool can help streamline the transition by automatically handling many of the necessary updates and configurations. It is recommended that this tool be run from the command line for better visibility into the changes.

Step 6:  Manual Adjustments and Testing

After using the Upgrade Assistant, you will need to make some manual adjustments:

1. Fix Build Errors: Open the project in Visual Studio and address any build errors that arise. Common issues include ambiguous references and missing dependencies.
2. Testing: Thoroughly test the migrated application on all target platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS) to ensure it functions correctly and has no runtime errors.
3. Clean and Build: Regularly clean and rebuild your project after making changes to ensure that you are testing the most recent updates.
4. Update Platform-specific Code: Revise any platform-specific implementations to align with .NET MAUI’s new APIs and patterns for accessing native functionality.

Migrating Xamarin to MAUI offers several significant benefits that enhance the development experience and improve app performance. Here are the key advantages:

• Single Project Structure: .NET MAUI allows developers to create applications using a single project for all platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, macOS), streamlining the development process. In contrast, Xamarin requires separate projects for each platform, which can complicate management and increase overhead.
• Modern Architecture Patterns: .NET MAUI supports MVU (model-view-update) and Blazor development patterns in addition to support for MVVM (model-view-viewmodel) and RxUI patterns. Thus, .NET MAUI provides developers with a versatile toolkit that helps them leverage existing skills and choose the most appropriate architecture pattern for building cross-platform apps.
• Enhanced Performance: The architecture of .NET MAUI is built on .NET 6 and later versions, which are designed to be more efficient than Xamarin. This foundation improves application performance, leading to faster load times and a more responsive user experience. The improvements in rendering and resource management contribute significantly to overall application efficiency.
• Modern Features and Tools: .NET MAUI introduces modern development features, such as improved support for custom renderers and native controls, which were more cumbersome in Xamarin. The framework also includes enhanced tooling and documentation, making it easier for developers to find resources and support. Features like hot reload allow for real-time updates during development, help streamline the testing and iteration process.
• Reduced Maintenance Overhead: As a newer framework, .NET MAUI is less likely to harbor bugs and security vulnerabilities compared to Xamarin. This can lead to lower maintenance costs over time, as developers spend less on troubleshooting and enhancing application features. Integration with the broader .NET ecosystem ensures ongoing support and updates, further reducing the burden on developers.
• Cross-Platform Code Sharing: It facilitates better code sharing across platforms, allowing developers to maintain a single codebase for business logic and UI layout, which can significantly reduce development time and effort.

Rishabh Software is positioned to assist you with .NET MAUI migration. With years of experience, technical expertise, and a proven track record, our team has extensive experience with cross-platform app development projects using Xamarin across various industries.

We’ve helped businesses create mobile & desktop applications that work seamlessly across different platforms. As your trusted .NET MAUI Development Company, we can provide custom development, seamless migration, testing & QA, and exceptional support maintenance to meet your business needs.

We are positioned to assist you with Xamarin to .NET MAUI migration. From creating the migration plan to identifying necessary adjustments in your Xamarin code and thoroughly testing your apps after migration. This ensures that your applications make the switch and utilize this modern framework’s enhanced capabilities.

We can further help you enhance your overall business operations with advanced integration capabilities and expertise in services such as ASP.NET, .NET Core, Azure, SharePoint, Data Analytics, Power BI, and Dynamics 365 for real-time insights.

Q: What are the Main Challenges When Migrating from Xamarin to MAUI?

A: Migrating from Xamarin to .NET MAUI often involves dealing with differences in project structure, API changes, and adapting to new UI paradigms. Developers may need to rewrite parts of the codebase to accommodate MAUI’s unified approach for multi-platform development.

Q: What Tools are Available for Xamarin to MAUI migration?

A: Several tools can assist with migration, including the .NET Upgrade Assistant, which helps automate some aspects of the transition. Additionally, community resources and documentation are available to guide developers through the process.

Q: How Does the Performance of MAUI Apps Compare to Xamarin Apps?

A: .NET MAUI apps offer improved performance due to better resource management and optimizations in the underlying architecture. This can lead to faster load times and smoother user experiences compared to Xamarin apps.