As of May 1st, 2024, we have officially bid adieu to Xamarin, marking the end of an era in cross-platform mobile development. Microsoft’s decision to discontinue support for Xamarin undoubtedly brings a mix of emotions for developers who have relied on it to create native mobile apps.
Xamarin emerged as a game-changer in the world of mobile app development, offering the promise of writing code once and deploying it everywhere. To me, that was a premise that instantly clicked. The quirky monkey-obsessed aesthetics around it certainly helped. However, the ability to use C# and the .NET framework, leveraging knowledge I already had, made me fall in love quickly. I can’t even begin to compare the early days to where we stand now that we’re at the end; so much improvements were made along the way.
Monkeys! And still a kick-ass looking Xamaward.
Over the years, Xamarin evolved and matured, becoming an integral part of Microsoft’s development ecosystem. Its integration with Visual Studio provided developers with a seamless workflow, and the advent of Xamarin.Forms set the whole thing on a new path of sharing UI code. For someone like me, with a knack for all things visual, that was a godsend. Or well… most of the time. I may have lost endless hours tinkering with something platform-specific looked off by a pixel 😅 Obviously, along the way we have also lost quite a few things already. Here’s a list of things I remember, in no particular order, who knows what memories it might trigger…
- Xamarin Component Store
- Xamarin Insights
- MonoDevelop
- MTouch.Dialog
- Data Pages
- Xamarin.Forms Labs
- Shared Projects (the actual
.shprojones) - Xamarin University
- AppCenter
- UI Test Recorder
- Xamarin.Auth
- Xamarin Forums
- Xamarin Test Cloud
A warehouse, somewhere in Denmark…
To me though, the most valuable aspect of Xamarin wasn’t just the technology; it was the vibrant community and the people behind it that truly made it special. Whether it was attending local meetups, engaging in online forums, or social media, the sense of belonging and support within the Xamarin community was palpable. I would like to think I’ve made friendships along the way that endure till this day.
But as with all good things, the time has come to say goodbye. Microsoft’s decision to sunset Xamarin is not without reason, given their continued investment in its successor .NET MAUI. While Xamarin may no longer offically be a part of our toolkit, the spirit of it and the community around it lives on through .NET MAUI. So, here’s to Xamarin – thank you for the memories, the challenges, and the opportunities 🍻
