What are supported platforms in Xamarin.Forms?

DotNek Software Development 9 minute(s) read

Last updated: Apr 04, 2021

Android:

Android is a platform and operating system used and supported by Xamarin.Forms. Android is a platform that can be used to output and design and develop a variety of applications using Xamarin.Forms.

All versions of the Android operating system can be used for output, but with the advancement of technology, versions 5 and above are supported by Xamarin.Forms . In order for the Android operating system to be supported by Xamarin.Forms, we must have the latest versions of Android SDK Tools and Android API platform installed. In building and developing applications for Android projects, the target / compile versions must be set to Use latest installed platform. The lowest version can be API 19, which can easily support devices with Android 5.5 operating system.

iOS:

iOS is the operating system used to build and run a variety of applications. Version 9 and above Version 9 of this operating system is a suitable version for producing and running all kinds of applications .

Windows:

Another platform and operating system that is suitable for running applications produced by Xamarin.Forms , is the Windows operating system. Xamarin.Forms also supports the Windows operating system and can also output to this operating system.

What platforms are supported in Xamarin.Forms?

Applications written using Xamarin.Forms for Android, iOS and Windows operating systems can be launched in the following versions:

- Version 9 or higher for iOS
- Android version 5.5 (API 21) or higher for Android operating system. Of course, it should be noted that this version is the minimum and most basic version to run and launch applications written in Xamarin.Forms.
- Windows 10 Universal Platform version for Windows operating system to launch applications built into Xamarin.Forms

All applications built in Xamarin.Forms are for Android, iOS and Windows operating systems and platforms, but to be able to run and run all of them on these platforms, it is necessary that their versions are in accordance with the versions listed in the section. Be high. Because applications designed using Xamarin.Forms support some platforms and have the ability to run on them.

Of course, to design and develop applications with iOS, you need a Mac system connected to the Internet. The latest and highest version required for the Mac system to design and develop iOS applications is the Xcode version and the lowest and lowest version required to do so is the macOS version. Design, coding and development of different types of applications on different types of platforms and versions are done using Visual Studio.

Version 9 or higher for iOS:

The ninth version of iOS does not have many changes in appearance, but in terms of functionality, it offers many changes and capabilities that users of this operating system have been looking for. Smart features and more powerful spotlight search, new capabilities to control the battery and increase the battery power saving time, adding several default and required applications and applications, etc. are some of the features that are in the ninth version of the iOS operating system. Provided. The addition of these features has enabled Xamarin.Forms to support this version of the operating system, as well as applications designed by Xamarin.Forms can be launched and run in this version of the operating system.

Android 5.5 (API 21):

This version of Android is known as Android Lollipop and is more commonly seen as Android L. This version of the Android operating system has changes and updates to the appearance and structure. The APIs in this version of the operating system allow programmers and application developers to build and develop professional and attractive applications and programs. This version of the Android operating system is suitable for running designed applications and is also supported by Xamarin.Forms, so a suitable version for designing different types of applications by Xamarin.Forms

Windows 10 Universal Platform:

is a technology that is used for all devices with Windows 10 operating system, devices such as PCs, phones, tablets, Xboxes , etc. In this technology, the programmer at once Coding and programming can take different outputs for x86 and x64 processors. The benefits of this version of the Windows operating system are programming based on the device family, not the operating system. In this way, written applications recognize the APIs, behaviors, and modes of the device and can act on the recognition they have made. This version of the Windows operating system is supported by Xamarin.Forms and applications designed by Xamarin.Forms can be easily launched and run in this version of the Windows operating system.

Other platforms and operating systems supported by Xamarin.Forms are as follows:

- Samsung Tizen
- mac OS 10.13 or higher
- GTK
- #WPF

Samsung Tizen:

This operating system is for Samsung, which was introduced in 2012, but it is used on a trial basis, and phones with this operating system have not entered the market. But some smart devices such as Samsung gear2 watch use this operating system and have this operating system. This is an open source operating system, which means that it can be modified and developed for free by many developers around the world. The open source nature of this operating system is an advantage that allows it to be developed for free by skilled developers around the world and made available to users. The user interface of this operating system is almost similar to the Android environment, but compared to Android, it works better than Android in increasing battery life or increasing battery power storage time. Applications designed for this operating system are built on the web. The web-based applications of this system allow applications to work in any environment. Of course, in addition to HTML5, Xamarin.Forms is also used to design, build and develop applications for this operating system. Of course, it should be noted that Tizen operating system is based on the Linux kernel and is not specific to mobile phones and can be used for all smart devices that need the operating system. Smart devices such as refrigerators, washing machines, cars, TVs, wearable gadgets, smart watches, etc. Different types of smart devices that need an operating system for their operation.

macOS 10.13 or higher:

is the latest version provided by Apple, which has made the necessary changes and updates to this version of the operating system and has provided it for the convenience and satisfaction of its users. Another name for this version is macOS High Sierra, which is the fourteenth updated version by Apple. The hardware requirements for this version of the operating system are similar to the hardware requirements for macOS 10.12. This version of Mac OS is supported by Xamarin.Forms and can be used in various cases. Apple has provided some interesting features in this version of the operating system.

Among the interesting features of this version of the operating system are the following:

- It is possible to search Powerful Spotlight in mails in this version of the operating system, and users can search among their mails in the form of Powerful Spotlight.
- Safari blocks all ads, auto-play videos, and all sorts of annoying things.There are more advanced features in the photos program for editing photos, and users can easily use this feature using this version of the operating system and edit their images in an advanced and easy way.Can also support external and external graphics cards.

GTK #:

A library built using the C programming language to provide high quality and fast tools for user interface design. This library contains tools that are used to design a variety of user interfaces in C and can be used under other languages ​​such as C ++ or python. One of the features of this library is that it is multi-platform and can easily be used in other environments and platforms. Xamarin.Forms also supports this library and can be used to build and develop multi-platform applications.

Windows Presentation Foundation:

WPF, which is used to design graphical interfaces. Without graphical interfaces, it was possible to build and design all kinds of applications and software using coding, but with graphical interfaces, the process of making and developing has become easier because there is no need for much coding. WPF is based on DirectX. The latest Microsoft technology to design a variety of graphical interfaces for the convenience of users and developers, is a platform supported by Xamarin.Forms and can be used to build and develop a variety of applications.

What platforms are not supported by Xamarin.Forms?

There are also some platforms that are obsolete and not supported by Xamarin.Forms. These types of platforms are as follows:

- Windows 8.1 / Windows Phone 8.1 WinRT
- Windows Phone 8 Silverlight

Why are these platforms obsolete and not supported by Xamarin.Forms?

- Windows Phone and Android are both designed and built for the same purpose and task, but they have differences that make Android superior to Windows Phone, which is why Xamarin.Forms chooses the Android platform for support. And does not support the Windows Phone platform.
- In Android, widgets and applications are located in a home screen that allows more regular and easy access to applications, and most importantly in Android, users can change their layout at will. In Windows Phone, all programs are tiled. Android is more flexible in terms of personalization than Windows Phone, which is why Android is superior to Windows Phone and has been supported by Xamarin.Forms.
- The contacts and contacts section in Android is in the same application and next to each other, and this makes the call process easier, but in Windows Phone, the contacts and contacts section are not next to each other, which is one of the reasons why Android is superior to Windows Phone. And be selected for support by Xamarin.Forms.