WinUI 3 Updates – October 2023

Microsoft has shipped the latest set of improvements for WinUI 3 in the October 2023 release. This update focuses on performance, stability, and new developer-friendly features that make building modern Windows apps even easier.

What’s New

• Hot Reload Enhancements – Hot Reload now supports XAML resource updates without a full app restart.
• Improved Window Management – New APIs for handling multiple windows, including child‑window placement and DPI‑aware scaling.
• Better Integration with Project Reunion – Simplified packaging and deployment pipelines for MSIX.
• Performance Boosts – Reduced startup time by up to 15% and lowered memory footprint on low‑end devices.

Getting Started

To try the new features, update your Microsoft.WinUI NuGet package to 3.0.2 or later. The following sample demonstrates the new Hot Reload behavior:

// Sample.xaml.cs
public sealed partial class MainPage : Page
{
    public MainPage()
    {
        this.InitializeComponent();
    }
}

Modify the Resources section in MainPage.xaml and watch the changes apply instantly while the app runs.

Known Issues

We’re aware of a rare crash when using the new WindowId API on devices with custom DPI settings. A fix is scheduled for the next minor release.

Feedback & Community

We encourage you to test the preview builds and share your experience on GitHub or the WinUI 3 forum.