Microsoft releases WinUI 3 - Project Reunion 0.5 Preview to help devs make modern Windows 10 apps

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What you need to know

Microsoft just released the WinUI 3 Project Reunion 0.5 preview.
It is the first release of Win UI 3 that ships inside the Project Reunion package.
The preview also adds support for in-app acrylic and several other options.

Microsoft just released the WinUI 3 - Project Reunion 0.5 Preview. This release is the first time that WinUI 3 ships inside of the Project Reunion package and should make it easier for developers to take advantage of modern APIs for their apps.

In addition to making it a bit easier to install the latest tools for app development, this preview also adds new options.

Here's what's new in WinUI 3 for the Project Reunion 0.5 preview:

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In-app acrylic is now supported!
The Pivot control is no longer supported, and has been deprecated in WinUI 3. We recommend using the NavigationView control for your in-app navigation scenarios.
WinUI 3 and Project Reunion will be supported down-level to Windows 10 version 1809 - it requires build 17763 or newer.

The update also includes several bug fixes, which are detailed in a Microsoft doc.

We've just shipped WinUI 3 - Project Reunion 0.5 Preview! 🎉This is a new preview version of WinUI 3 w/ bug fixes & some new functionality, that's shipping w/ Project Reunion for the 1st time!

👩‍💻Get started: https://t.co/lIV8hcTrgS

📖Full announcement: https://t.co/Lb0JGS1L5YWe've just shipped WinUI 3 - Project Reunion 0.5 Preview! 🎉This is a new preview version of WinUI 3 w/ bug fixes & some new functionality, that's shipping w/ Project Reunion for the 1st time!

👩‍💻Get started: https://t.co/lIV8hcTrgS

📖Full announcement: https://t.co/Lb0JGS1L5Y— Windows UI (@WindowsUI) March 10, 2021 March 10, 2021

If you're new to developing with WinUI 3, here's a description of if from Microsoft:

Windows UI Library (WinUI) 3 is a native user experience (UX) platform for building modern Windows apps. It works with both desktop/Win32 and UWP apps, and includes Visual Studio project templates to help get started building apps with a WinUI-based user interface as well as a NuGet package that contains the WinUI libraries.

In more simple terms, Project Reunion is an effort that helps make modern Windows apps. Developers can use a number of languages and setups to create apps that will work well on Windows 10 and Windows 10X going forward.

Sean Endicott is a News Writer at Windows Central, where he covers Windows 11, Surface hardware, Microsoft 365, AI, apps, and the broader PC ecosystem. Since joining the site in 2017, he has written well over a thousand articles across the Microsoft landscape, covering breaking news, analysis, and feature reporting.

He writes Windows Wrap, a weekly column covering the biggest stories in Windows and the PC industry, and what they mean for the platform going forward.

Before joining Windows Central full-time, Sean worked in journalism and media production after earning a First Class degree in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University. Outside of tech, he is an award-winning American football coach based in Nottingham, England, and was named BAFCA Youth Coach of the Year in 2024.