By Mayank Parmar
Publication Date: 2026-10-24 21:48:00
Microsoft has clarified that it isn’t killing WinUI and XAML after it began testing an experimental framework called Microsoft.UI.Reactor. Given Microsoft’s reputation for giving up on UWP and killing Silverlight before, it’s not a surprise some developers have had doubts.
For those unaware (or if you’re not a developer), WinUI is Microsoft’s native UI framework. Apps built with it generally follow Windows 11’s design, like the Settings app. On the other hand, XAML is the markup language developers use to describe an app’s interface.
Reactor builds on WinUI and offers a new way to describe those same native interfaces directly in C#, without writing XAML. So it was quite obvious that Reactor wasn’t supposed to replace WinUI, but it does make you wonder if this is the FINAL nail in the coffin of XAML, which has felt neglected for years at this point.
I asked Microsoft and was redirected to its new document as well as the open-source…
