[release-notes] .NET MAUI in .NET 11 Preview 6

release-notes/11.0/preview/preview6/dotnetmaui.md

@@ -0,0 +1,264 @@
+# .NET MAUI in .NET 11 Preview 6 - Release Notes
+
+.NET 11 Preview 6 advances the cross-platform CollectionView and Shell
+architecture, removes the legacy Xamarin.Forms compatibility package, and
+brings the Apple workloads onto stable Xcode 26.6:
+
+- [CollectionView2 comes to Windows](#collectionview2-comes-to-windows)
+- [Handler-based Shell architecture on Android](#handler-based-shell-architecture-on-android)
+- [Microsoft.Maui.Controls.Compatibility package removed](#microsoftmauicontrolscompatibility-package-removed)
+- [HybridWebView is now AOT-safe](#hybridwebview-is-now-aot-safe)
+- [Geolocation gains a minimum-distance filter](#geolocation-gains-a-minimum-distance-filter)
+- [Android MediaPicker result recovery](#android-mediapicker-result-recovery)
+- [Reliability and platform-fix wave](#reliability-and-platform-fix-wave)
+- [.NET for Android](#net-for-android)
+- [Apple platforms (.NET for iOS, Mac Catalyst, macOS, tvOS)](#apple-platforms-net-for-ios-mac-catalyst-macos-tvos)
+- [Contributors](#contributors)
+
+.NET MAUI updates in .NET 11:
+
+- [What's new in .NET MAUI in .NET 11](https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/maui/whats-new/)
+
+## CollectionView2 comes to Windows
+
+The next-generation CollectionView (`CV2`) now has a Windows handler built on
+WinUI's `ItemsRepeater`, matching the `CV2` implementations that already exist
+on Android, iOS, and Mac Catalyst
+([dotnet/maui #34600](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/34600)). The Windows
+handler maps `LinearItemsLayout` and `GridItemsLayout` onto `ItemsRepeater`'s
+virtualizing layouts and supports headers and footers, empty views, grouping,
+selection modes, snapping, incremental loading, and `RefreshView`. This
+continues the effort to replace the legacy `ListView`-based CollectionView with
+a single modern architecture across every platform.
+
+## Handler-based Shell architecture on Android
+
+Shell on Android is re-implemented on top of standard MAUI handlers, replacing
+the legacy renderer classes (`ShellRenderer`, `ShellFlyoutRenderer`,
+`ShellItemRenderer`, `ShellSectionRenderer`) with `ShellHandler`,
+`ShellItemHandler`, and `ShellSectionHandler`
+([dotnet/maui #34758](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/34758)). The new
+handlers reuse the same building blocks as the rest of MAUI — `MauiDrawerLayout`
+(shared with `FlyoutViewHandler`) and `TabbedViewManager` (shared with
+`TabbedPage`) — instead of duplicating drawer, tab, and navigation logic per
+renderer. This is an Android-only change; iOS and Mac Catalyst continue to use
+the existing Shell renderers in this preview. If your app relies on Shell on
+Android, this is a good preview to test against.
+
+## Microsoft.Maui.Controls.Compatibility package removed
+
+The opt-in `Microsoft.Maui.Controls.Compatibility` NuGet package, originally
+provided to ease Xamarin.Forms migration, is no longer built or shipped
+([dotnet/maui #35870](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35870)).
+
+This is a breaking change only for projects that **explicitly** reference the
+`Microsoft.Maui.Controls.Compatibility` package or rely on the Xamarin.Forms
+compatibility renderers it exposed. Those projects need to migrate off the
+package before moving to .NET 11. Apps that reference only
+`Microsoft.Maui.Controls` are unaffected — the compatibility-named handler and
+layout base types those apps depend on remain compiled into
+`Microsoft.Maui.Controls.Core`.
+
+## HybridWebView is now AOT-safe
+
+`HybridWebView` JavaScript interop is reworked to use a source generator instead
+of reflection, so it no longer produces trim or AOT warnings and works correctly
+in fully trimmed and Native AOT apps
+([dotnet/maui #35626](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35626)).
+
+On Android, `HybridWebView` now also filters incoming JavaScript `message` events
+by source, so only genuine native messages (delivered through
+`WebView.postWebMessage`) raise `HybridWebViewMessageReceived`. Stray
+`window.postMessage` callers — for example a nested iframe posting to its parent
+— are dropped with a development-time warning instead of being surfaced as native
+messages ([dotnet/maui #35717](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35717)).
+
+## Geolocation gains a minimum-distance filter
+
+`GeolocationListeningRequest` adds a `MinimumDistance` property (in meters) so
+foreground location listening only raises updates after the device has moved at
+least the specified distance
+([dotnet/maui #35784](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35784)). A value of
+`0` keeps the previous behavior of no distance filtering.
+
+```csharp
+var request = new GeolocationListeningRequest(GeolocationAccuracy.Best)
+{
+    MinimumDistance = 10 // meters
+};
+
+await Geolocation.StartListeningForegroundAsync(request);
+```
+
+## Android MediaPicker result recovery
+
+On Android, the operating system can destroy and recreate your app's process
+while the system camera or file picker is in the foreground — a case Android's
+own guidance calls out for memory-intensive flows such as photo capture. When
+that happened, the original `MediaPicker` task was lost and the captured photo or
+video could not be delivered back to the app, making capture unreliable on
+affected devices ([dotnet/maui #35455](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35455)).
+
+Preview 6 adds an opt-in, Android-only recovery surface so apps can retrieve a
+result that completed after the process was recreated:
+
+- `MediaPicker.GetRecoveredMediaPickerResultsAsync()`
+- `MediaPicker.WaitForRecoveredMediaPickerResultsAsync(CancellationToken)`
+- `MediaPicker.ClearRecoveredMediaPickerResultAsync(string id)`
+
+Normal live-process behavior is unchanged: the existing `MediaPicker` and
+`IMediaPicker` methods still complete as before when the app stays alive.
+
+## Reliability and platform-fix wave
+
+Preview 6 continues the .NET 11 reliability push with a broad set of
+customer-reported fixes across `CollectionView`, `Shell`, Material 3 on Android,
+iOS 26, XAML, and Windows. Highlights include:
+
+- **CollectionView** — grid item spacing on the first row and column
+  ([dotnet/maui #34527](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/34527)),
+  `EmptyView`/`Header` visibility when `ItemsSource` is not set
+  ([dotnet/maui #34989](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/34989)), scroll
+  position resetting on iOS status-bar tap
+  ([dotnet/maui #34687](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/34687)), and
+  `ScrollOffset` when `ItemsSource` changes
+  ([dotnet/maui #34488](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/34488)).
+- **Shell** — flyout items no longer scroll behind the flyout header on iOS
+  ([dotnet/maui #34936](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/34936)),
+  `OnBackButtonPressed` fires on Android
+  ([dotnet/maui #35150](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35150)), a memory
+  leak from `Shell.Items.Clear()` is fixed
+  ([dotnet/maui #35031](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35031)), and tab and
+  content badge propagation is corrected
+  ([dotnet/maui #35462](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35462)).
+- **Material 3 on Android** — alerts, action sheets, and prompts no longer fall
+  back to Material 2 styling when Material 3 is enabled
+  ([dotnet/maui #35121](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35121)), the "More"
+  bottom sheet uses theme colors
+  ([dotnet/maui #35129](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35129)), and the
+  first tab switch no longer flashes a Material 2 color in the app bar
+  ([dotnet/maui #35117](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35117)).
+- **iOS 26** — tap gestures on wrapped `Label` lines
+  ([dotnet/maui #34640](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/34640)), `Switch`
+  thumb color on theme changes
+  ([dotnet/maui #33953](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/33953)), and a
+  `StaticResource` Hot Reload crash
+  ([dotnet/maui #35020](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35020)).
+- **XAML** — the C# expression source generator no longer emits invalid
+  change-notification handlers for static type references such as `Colors.*`,
+  `DateTime.*`, and `Math.*`, which previously produced `CS1061` compiler errors
+  ([dotnet/maui #35922](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35922)).
+- **Accessibility** — the Windows `Layout` `AutomationPeer` is now public with an
+  opt-in screen-reader tree
+  ([dotnet/maui #35597](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35597)), and the
+  Narrator no longer announces `ContentView` children twice when a description
+  is set ([dotnet/maui #33979](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/33979)).
+- **Essentials** — `Geolocation` reports mean-sea-level altitude on Android API
+  34+ instead of the WGS84 ellipsoidal value
+  ([dotnet/maui #35097](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35097)), and the
+  permissions API is now testable through a new `IPermissions` abstraction and a
+  replaceable `Permissions.Current` implementation
+  ([dotnet/maui #35987](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/pull/35987)).
+
+See the [full compare](https://github.com/dotnet/maui/compare/11.0.0-preview.5.26304.4...release/11.0.1xx-preview6)
+for the complete set of changes.
+
+## .NET for Android
+
+.NET for Android Preview 6 is a foundational release focused on HTTP correctness
+and continued trimming work rather than new platform APIs.
+
+`AndroidMessageHandler` is brought in line with the `HttpClient` contract and
+`SocketsHttpHandler` behavior:
+
+- Transport and protocol failures now throw `HttpRequestException` instead of the
+  legacy `WebException`, with the original `WebException` (and its
+  `WebExceptionStatus`) preserved as the `InnerException` for back-compat
+  ([dotnet/android #11682](https://github.com/dotnet/android/pull/11682)).
+- Cancelling a request now surfaces as an `OperationCanceledException` for both
+  response-body reads
+  ([dotnet/android #11554](https://github.com/dotnet/android/pull/11554)) and
+  request-body uploads
+  ([dotnet/android #11683](https://github.com/dotnet/android/pull/11683)),
+  matching `SocketsHttpHandler`.
+
+The trimmable typemap and CoreCLR work introduced earlier in .NET 11 continues,
+including native registration for the LLVM typemap
+([dotnet/android #11805](https://github.com/dotnet/android/pull/11805)) and no
+longer serving BCL P/Invokes from the precompiled override on CoreCLR
+([dotnet/android #11537](https://github.com/dotnet/android/pull/11537)).
+
+Two build-time diagnostics help catch problems from legacy or third-party
+libraries. Class libraries built with the old Xamarin.Android tooling that still
+embed `__AndroidEnvironment__` resources now surface warning `XA0149` instead of
+silently merging those files into your app
+([dotnet/android #11700](https://github.com/dotnet/android/pull/11700)). And a
+third-party `.aar` whose `proguard.txt` contains global R8 options that are not
+valid in a consumer keep file — such as `-dontoptimize` or `-printmapping` — is
+now skipped rather than failing the build or writing output to unexpected paths
+([dotnet/android #11709](https://github.com/dotnet/android/pull/11709)).
+
+## Apple platforms (.NET for iOS, Mac Catalyst, macOS, tvOS)
+
+- **Xcode 26.6** is now the supported stable Xcode version for the Apple
+  workloads ([dotnet/macios #25853](https://github.com/dotnet/macios/pull/25853)),
+  and `mlaunch` was updated to support the Xcode 27 Device Hub for early testing
+  ([dotnet/macios #25768](https://github.com/dotnet/macios/pull/25768)).
+- **Icon Composer (`.icon`) app icons** are now supported. `.icon` folders
+  introduced with macOS 26 Tahoe's Liquid Glass design are recognized as asset
+  catalogs, passed to `actool` with `--app-icon`, and work with alternate-icon
+  switching ([dotnet/macios #24722](https://github.com/dotnet/macios/pull/24722)).
+- **`NSUrlSessionHandler` correctness** — it now follows redirects the same way
+  the other .NET HTTP handlers do
+  ([dotnet/macios #25529](https://github.com/dotnet/macios/pull/25529)) and
+  rejects unsupported authentication methods so requests can fall back to Basic
+  auth ([dotnet/macios #25493](https://github.com/dotnet/macios/pull/25493)).
+- **MSBuild** — referenced extension projects are now built by default, so app
+  extensions no longer need a manual build step
+  ([dotnet/macios #25854](https://github.com/dotnet/macios/pull/25854)).
+
+Preview 6 also includes a broad reliability, linker, and packaging pass across
+the Apple workloads. See the full Preview 6 changelog for the complete list:
+<https://github.com/dotnet/macios/compare/release/11.0.1xx-preview5...release/11.0.1xx-preview6>
+
+## Contributors
+
+Thank you contributors! ❤️
+
+[@AdamEssenmacher](https://github.com/AdamEssenmacher),
+[@akoeplinger](https://github.com/akoeplinger),
+[@albyrock87](https://github.com/albyrock87),
+[@arpitjain099](https://github.com/arpitjain099),
+[@BagavathiPerumal](https://github.com/BagavathiPerumal),
+[@dalexsoto](https://github.com/dalexsoto),
+[@devanathan-vaithiyanathan](https://github.com/devanathan-vaithiyanathan),
+[@Dhivya-SF4094](https://github.com/Dhivya-SF4094),
+[@HarishKumarSF4517](https://github.com/HarishKumarSF4517),
+[@HarishwaranVijayakumar](https://github.com/HarishwaranVijayakumar),
+[@JanKrivanek](https://github.com/JanKrivanek),
+[@jfversluis](https://github.com/jfversluis),
+[@jonathanpeppers](https://github.com/jonathanpeppers),
+[@KarthikRajaKalaimani](https://github.com/KarthikRajaKalaimani),
+[@KitKeen](https://github.com/KitKeen),
+[@kotlarmilos](https://github.com/kotlarmilos),
+[@kubaflo](https://github.com/kubaflo),
+[@mattleibow](https://github.com/mattleibow),
+[@NanthiniMahalingam](https://github.com/NanthiniMahalingam),
+[@NirmalKumarYuvaraj](https://github.com/NirmalKumarYuvaraj),
+[@praveenkumarkarunanithi](https://github.com/praveenkumarkarunanithi),
+[@PureWeen](https://github.com/PureWeen),
+[@Qythyx](https://github.com/Qythyx),
+[@Redth](https://github.com/Redth),
+[@rmarinho](https://github.com/rmarinho),
+[@rolfbjarne](https://github.com/rolfbjarne),
+[@sbomer](https://github.com/sbomer),
+[@Shalini-Ashokan](https://github.com/Shalini-Ashokan),
+[@simonrozsival](https://github.com/simonrozsival),
+[@StephaneDelcroix](https://github.com/StephaneDelcroix),
+[@SubhikshaSf4851](https://github.com/SubhikshaSf4851),
+[@SuthiYuvaraj](https://github.com/SuthiYuvaraj),
+[@SyedAbdulAzeemSF4852](https://github.com/SyedAbdulAzeemSF4852),
+[@T-Gro](https://github.com/T-Gro),
+[@Tamilarasan-Paranthaman](https://github.com/Tamilarasan-Paranthaman),
+[@TamilarasanSF4853](https://github.com/TamilarasanSF4853),
+and [@Vignesh-SF3580](https://github.com/Vignesh-SF3580).