Microsoft launches Visual Studio 2017 with 2-day livestream event

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
last updated

Developers, the big day is here: Visual Studio 2017 has officially launched. The latest version of Visual Studio is now available for download (opens in new tab), and there's a whole heck of a lot of new stuff to check out.

The full list of changes is absolutely massive, but some of the highlights include a brand-new installation experience, much speedier startup and load times, and new Git features in Team Explorer. Visual Studio 2017 also adds the ability for you to build your own extensions to customize the VS experience for yourself. For the full, detailed list of changes in Visual Studio 2017, be sure to check out the complete release notes (opens in new tab).

Today not only marks the launch of Visual Studio 2017, but this year is the 20th anniversary of the original Visual Studio launch as well. To celebrate both occasions, Microsoft is holding a two-day launch event livestream that promises to be packed with new feature overviews and training sessions. That's going on right now, and you can tune in below.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

21 Comments
  • Can one upgrade from RC to the Final Edition?
  • I tried, it didn't work. I uninstalled the RC and installed the final version to the same path, projects are working fine.
  • Uh oh. I clicked the update button half an hour ago. At 60% currently
  • Mine stopped around 50% and said "cannot update". Good luck!!
  • Im at 93% no issues yet updating the RC...I'll post back when its done
  • I hope I don't have to run this as administrator to bypass a plethora of unexplainable bugs. Also going the mobile emulators are a bit less tedious to work with.
  • Does it still emulate WP8.1?
  • It would emulate Windows 10 Mobile
  • Had a lot of problems with 2015. I hope this one is better.
  • Android phone in image😭
  • Because VS now comes with built in Android emulator and Xamarin support.
  • Well, it's showing how you can develop for Android and iOS simultaniously, which is pretty cool.  But they should have included a Windows phone in the picture too.  Unless, they are dropping support for Windows phone development.
  • The thing is there is no "Windows Phone" anymore. You cannot select a Windows Phone Project when creating a new project. So what they would like to promote is not only you can write "Windows" apps (Universal) but also iOS and Android apps which share most of the logic.
  • You want to draw people from android. Most people will see a windows phone and be like "what is that? won't bother getting it since I can't do it for android the most popular os".
  • Video auto playing in the app. Poor form guys! What's more... I cannot stop the video!
  • I agree, I didn't like that it auto played, but I am able to stop it; by pressing the pause button. Speaking of videos, isn't it beyond time that the Windows Central app supported full-screening videos? Pressing the full-screen button constrains it to the article column.
  • I loved the way they managed backend and frontend changes on teamservices.
  • Can anyone tell me Visual Studio 2017 Enterprise offline download size!!?
  • I can tell you the professional is 23.6GB! Nuts!
  • There is a big update on visual studio for developers.. But no updates for payouts summary and no transfer to upcoming payment even you are eligible for payment.
  • This would have been nice if it would have installed without a plethora of issues and problems. Spent 3 hours with MS trying to figure out why Packages failed to load and they're still scratching their heads.