Xamarin Platform Valuable Features

AG
Area Manager at Landmark Group

One of the major benefits of Xamarin.Forms are that you can write once and run anywhere. A valuable feature is that you write UI using XAML, something like HTML, except that XAML is Microsoft technology, which helps you write and build mobile interfaces. XAML is a mature technology. The good part of Xamarin is that if you use it to build something cross-platform but find that that's not available out of the box, you can extend Xamarin using many features, like dependency services and custom vendors. You could use those to tailor your solution for a specific platform. For example, suppose you want a feature to be implemented in Android and iOS differently than in a standard implementation. In that case, many features are available in Xamarin to facilitate that. A simple example would be that if you want a page to look different on Android and iOS, Xamarin can easily do that.

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Vishal Paliwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Xamarin Developer at Cognizant

My favorite feature of Xamarin platform is the Xamarin.Essentials package.

I also like the changes seen in Xamarin's upgrade from Xamarin.Forms to .NET MAUI, because in the older Xamarin Platform, Xamarin.Forms gave you multiple libraries of a particular level for a single platform, whereas .NET MAUI comprises a single, organized library that contains everything needed for both Android and iOS.

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Mark Reynolds - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer (Xamarin/MAUI Mobile, .NET APIs, Azure Cloud) at rseg

Xamarin.Forms is a framework that's coupled with the Xamarin platform, and I think one of the biggest productivity gains is that you can build a single UI using Xamarin.Forms and it runs on both platforms. Plus, it gives you the ability to use C-Sharp, which is a very mature, robust language. The combination of forms for cross-platform UI and C-Sharp for the programming language are my two favorite features.

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Buyer's Guide
Xamarin Platform
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Xamarin Platform. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Nishan Timilsina - PeerSpot reviewer
Mobile Engeneer at ServiceLInk inc

The product has a lot of features. 

The common UI is great. You can just write one XM channel core and it'll be used for both iOS and Android. That is a strong feature. 

It's just natively compiled on the device like other platforms. It can work across platform technology and is natively compiled to build onto both platforms. You can access the native features through the custom vendor, which we call Dependency Services. Dependency Service is another vital feature to access the native functionality of the different platforms, including iOS and Android. 

It's not too difficult to set up.

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Ahmed Adel ElKhateeb - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Engeneer at Inetum

The most valuable feature of the Xamarin Platform is the deployment.

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Miroslav Kouril - PeerSpot reviewer
Mobile Xamarin Developer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

The solution's most valuable asset is its shared code base in C# that is better for large apps. 

Code is transferred to the .NET framework and the standard libraries for shared code are great. 

The solution is reliable with a very manageable hierarchy that allows multiple roles and permissions.

The solution's pull request system is quite good and unit testing is useful. 

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MohammedSadiq - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Mobile Developer / Senior Xamarin Developer at Imparta

The most valuable features of the Xamarin Platform are that it has cross-platform development, one code base serves a purpose on both, and the grid layout is a lifesaver.

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Lalani Samir - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Xamarin Developer at Ezyhaul

This solution is a cross-form technology, meaning that we don't have to create separate code to deploy apps across different platforms. 

We also find this solution to be simple to use, with a very user-friendly environment.

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Fabio Cerioni - PeerSpot reviewer
Partner at Novis Euforia

The solution is easy to understand and has banking integrated. The shorter development time, the bugging and as well as availability of a lot of documentation on the web. Also the native integration is easy.


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Aamez Khan Pathan - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead at Sensussoft Software Pvt.Ltd ®

Xamarin Platform enables you to use a single code language. This is beneficial for Android, iOS, and Windows platforms, so they can be developed over application or built over application. 

You can create applications like MarketWatch, trading, business development, commerce, gaming, and also e-commerce applications using Xamarin.Forms.

With Xamarin Platform, you can use business levels of the applications such as billing, counter billing, barcode scanner, and payment gateway applications.

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MH
Manager Mobile Software Development at SEAMGEN, LLC

The ability to share a platform-agnostic common core, or business logic, enables a mobile developer to write code for all targeted mobile platforms, independent of the individual developer's specialization in iOS, Android, or Windows. This helps not only during development but also enables easier maintenance of deployed apps, since bug fixes or feature additions can be often made in the platform-agnostic layer.

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AS
Consultant/Software Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

This is a Microsoft-supported source platform so the technical support is very good and it's close to native. It's all compiled into related code and at the same time wraps old libraries or native libraries into cross-platform libraries which is great. I do a lot of proof of concepts, and part of the reason I like Xamarin is that I'm familiar with it and know my way around which saves me a lot of time. 

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Arif Imran - PeerSpot reviewer
Independent Cross Platform App Development Consultant

I think the best part about Xamarin is that you can create apps for both platforms using one source code. That's the most powerful feature. When you develop something for Android, it also builds for iVerse as well. The cross-platform aspect of Xamarin is unique. The ability to develop both apps with a single code base is something very unique.

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RR
Data Management Technical Lead - Project Manager at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

The product owners that were looking at it liked the functionality. There was a competing product library called PSPDFKit. They wanted to get rid of that because it costs a lot of money; however, they wanted the functionality that the PSPDFKit had, inside Xamarin. There were some issues with it that they were trying to resolve.

When they put their ticket in, Microsoft pointed to Xamarin and Xamarin pointed at Microsoft, to say who's going to fix it. That's where it got left off. Xamarin was never able to utilize that module for the PDF. They had to keep the PSPDFKit software, that's the current state. 

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UB
Sr. Xamarin Developer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Xamarin Platform is a platform that uses C Sharp and allows you to create hybrid applications. The best part of this solution is that you can create one solution in C Sharp. It works for both Android and iOS.

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it_user879264 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mobile Practice Director

It allows the development of truly native applications in C# using the power of .NET framework and Visual Studio.

Xamarin allows the same development and build environment to be used for all platforms and code to be controlled in a single code repository. Shared logic, such as business logic and models, can be shared between the platforms, which significantly reduces development, test, and maintenance efforts. Typically, this leads to around 75-80% code reuse between the platforms. If Xamarin.Forms can be used, then this reuse typically rises to around 95%.

Xamarin also leverages the full power of the .NET Framework, including things like lambdas, LINQ, properties, bindings, commands, etc. Lastly, it uses the Visual Studio IDE, by far the most powerful and complete IDE available, making development and maintenance much easier.

The Xamarin SDK provides C# bindings to all native iOS and Android SDK APIs, as well as access to the .NET framework and builds to a native package. The Xamarin Mono run time runs a .NET CSR alongside the native run time with a bridge between them, and handles memory management and garbage collection.

App behavior is completely native and performance is near native (depending on the app architecture, but can be even faster than native if the business logic is computationally intensive). App size and memory footprint is slightly larger than native, due to the need for the inclusion of the .NET and Xamarin libraries. In a debug build, this can be significant. However, in release mode, the build process uses a rigorous linking process which removed most of the unused classes and methods from the managed DLLs. As a result, the average app size increases in a release build by only 5 to 6MB.

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Valmik Magar - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr.Xamarin Developer at SculptSoft

The most valuable feature of the Xamarin Platform is that both the UI are the same in Android and iOS, in one project and Android and iOS, are applications for developing PCL projects. Additionally, the dashboard is good.

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FB
Software Developer at Politecnico di Milano

The solution saves us time by containing all the development work in one application instead of two and it's well-documented. The solution is consolidated, meaning that it's been on the market for many years. Xamarin Platform is stable, it works, and it is very simple.

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Gurswak Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Xamarin Developer at Beesolver Technology Pvt Ltd

We are a 5-member team and Xamarin provides us with a tool kit that crossbreeds from hybrid applications. We write a single line of code that works both with android and iOS. It's a main feature of Xamarin and makes the product very user-friendly. 

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Shivendra Mishra - PeerSpot reviewer
Xamarin forms and dot net developer at Winlancer Technologies

Xamarin Platform's best features are its single codebase, the support from Microsoft, and the free libraries.

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Prem Sai Varada - PeerSpot reviewer
Junior - Analyst Programmer at Web Synergies

The best part while using the Xamarin Platform is a cross-platform application. We could execute iOS and Android while writing a single line of code. The most important feature of the Xamarin Platforms was this.

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JJ
Works at D’aprile Properties

Provides a wide variety of technical work and some interesting problems to solve. 

Being able to use the .NET framework and platform have me creating applications better than anyone who develops on Windows. 

Being able to use Visual Studio means development gets to use the best IDE currently available.

Xamarin is well-integrated with Visual Studio so it will feel very familiar to you once you start. 

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BS
System Analyst at Intersoft Data Labs

Test Cloud, Calabash, SpecFlow, and Xamarin.UITest are the features which can’t be ignored because just writing code doesn’t mean your app will run flawlessly. You need to test your app on each possible device and configuration, which you can do easily.

And how can I forget plugins like MvvmCross, which make a developer’s life easy.

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KR
Software Development Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

The possibility to share business domain model-related code between iOS and Android.

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it_user877149 - PeerSpot reviewer
C#/Xamarin/Mobile Technical Lead at a tech vendor with 1-10 employees
  • One language for all platforms: C#
  • XAML for UI in Xamarin.Forms
  • Provides 100 percent coverage of APIs on each platform
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NC
Technical Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

We very much like the XAML design techniques, multiple layout and pages, MVVMCross support, and portability across different platforms.

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it_user589014 - PeerSpot reviewer
Co Founder at a tech company with 51-200 employees
  • The ability to work in macOS for Xamarin iOS solutions
  • Cross-platform support
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KS
Xamarin Developer

In Xamarin.Forms, it is valuable that one and the same code (including UI) work on all platforms. It is very convenient.

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JZ
Mobile Apps Team Lead, Scrum Master, Senior App Developer (Xamarin, Android) at a music company with 51-200 employees
  • Cross-platform development saves time and provides consistencies. 
  • C#: Simply the language. 
  • Native UI: No compromises needed for final users. 
  • MVVM: Clear concerns separation. 
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it_user877152 - PeerSpot reviewer
Xamarin Forms Sr. / Team Leader

Easy to develop applications for all platforms, including Mac and Windows.

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it_user877128 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

A very good feature of this solution is Xamarin.Forms, which is best for specific types of mobile apps. Based on my experience (and also Microsoft's recommendation), the best scenario for use would be for:

  • Data entry apps.
  • Apps requiring very little platform-specific functionality.
  • Apps where code sharing is more important than custom UI.
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AB
Xamarin Certified Consultant/Architect
  • This is close to the native app experience. 
  • It brings about good code sharing strategies, which bring down cost and maintenance efforts.
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CS
Technical Lead with 10,001+ employees

I like Renderers in Xamarin. They allow us to use native-platform controls easily.

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TS
Test Manager/ QA Consultant at Aspire Systems

UI Test - Xamarin Calabash framework with c# front end, Testing support on both Local (No execution hours limitation) and Testcloud (limited hours based on subscription)

Xamarin.UI is an automation library, through which you can automate any android and iOS application, without any concern of the language used to create that application. You can test any native (created on native language for example, for android java and for iOS object c) and hybrid application ( created on C#) with Xamarin.UI test.

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JS
Founder and CEO at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The Cross Platform is a great asset. We develop and then at the end, we publish other mobile apps to Android and to iPhone platforms. We develop stand-alone apps for Android and the iPhone and then transfer our development to Xamarin because it's much easier.

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it_user879252 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

For me, Xamarin becomes more valuable when it comes to forms. Xamarin has come up with a lot of features over time. I love XAML most. Recently, Xamarin has added a lot of features such as Effects, Behaviors, Triggers, etc. This has made the UI user-friendly, lively, and attractive.

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Buyer's Guide
Xamarin Platform
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Xamarin Platform. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.