Microsoft is finally fixing Windows 11 app design

WinUI Gallery graphic — WinUI Gallery is an app that helps developers make polished apps for Windows 11. (Image credit: Future | Microsoft | Edited with Gemini)

Ugly and inconsistent Windows 11 apps could be a thing of the past thanks to an update to a developer tool. WinUI Gallery just got bumped to version 2.8 and added new samples and improvements.

WinUI Gallery is an app that acts as a digital showroom for Windows app development. It both shows developers what UI elements look like on a PC and provides code samples to help create apps that align with Microsoft's design framework for modern applications.

It's now easier to return to samples and tools you rely on within WinUI Gallery because the app integrates with jump lists. A Jump List sample has also been added to the app to demonstrate how developers can work the same functionality into their own applications.

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A sample of AppWindow TitleBar customization and improved Clipboard samples have also been added to WinUI Gallery.

WinUI Gallery update to version 2.8 — (Image credit: Microsoft)

WinUI Gallery has been around for a while, though it has changed names and formats over the years. Microsoft has had some form of digital showroom for developers to aid in app development since 2018.

To clear up some potential confusion, WinUI 3 is the current framework developers work with. It's part of the Windows App SDK. Microsoft gradually migrated many of its own apps to WinUI 3 for years before more aggressively pushing WinUI 3 starting in 2024.

WinUI Gallery 2.8 is the latest version of the app. The "2.8" refers to the version number of the app, not the generation of WinUI it relates to. Microsoft could make it easier on developers by updating the naming scheme. Maybe that will come with WinUI Gallery 2.9, aka WinUI Gallery for WinUI 3 version 2.9 that's released on 3/6.

If more developers embrace WinUI 3, apps across Windows 11 will appear more consistent and provide a unified experience that feels familiar to users. The latest update to WinUI Gallery gives developers more tools to align their apps with Windows 11.

Have you used WinUI Gallery before? Had you heard of it before today? Let me know in the comments!

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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.