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I want to create an app in UWP. I have asp.net core server with rest api. Now I have to write the client. I was thinking about making this app also for Android and iOS.

I don't want to write separete view for Android, iOS and UWP. I want to write just the UWP and than run this on all devices. I want it to act and look on every platform the same. Meaning when I open this app on Windows Phone, it will look exactly same as on the Android and iOS (no native controll specified by platform).

Is there chance to make this kind of app? Is this possible throught Xamarin or something else?

UWP design is required for me, because of app complexity. Porting it to other platforms native design might be an nightmare.

Thank you.

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    You seem to be looking for Xamarin.Forms. Also I don't understand what you mean by "UWP design is required for me, because of app complexity" - how are these two related to each other?
    – UnholySheep
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 10:00
  • Xamarin.Forms is what I use for this, but keep in mind that there will be limitations and small differences. If you don't mind keeping your UI simple (meaning don't do a bunch of fancy things that only UWP supports), you can end up with a nice cross platform finished product. You will have to design in Forms though, which means learning a UI framework that has different syntax from UWP. There's also no forms GUI designer which will slow things down because you'll do a lot of building and checking while writing the UI.
    – Slepz
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 10:04
  • @UnholySheep Actually I mean the design complexity. Xamarin Forms might be solution, I will give it a try.
    – David Pavelka
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 10:24
  • You may also want to look at Uno The free UWP bridge for iOs, Android and WebAssembly
    – Reza
    Commented Jul 5, 2018 at 11:22

1 Answer 1

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No it's not possible. Xamarin use Native Controls. If you use Xamarin Forms, native controls are rendered correctly on specific devices too. I think you should use something else like HTML5 frameworks.

Now (2019) you can have a "Material Design": Xamarin.Forms Material Visual can be used to apply Material Design rules to Xamarin.Forms applications, creating applications that look identical, or largely identical, on iOS and Android. When Material Visual is enabled, supported views adopt the same design cross-platform, creating a unified look and feel. This is achieved with material renderers, that apply the Material Design rules. Xamarin.Forms Material Visual

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  • Agreed. If you want the exact same, a web app is the way to go.
    – Slepz
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 10:05
  • Thank you, I think that this answered my question. I will give the Xamarin Forms try, maybe it can handle this, maybe not. Otherwise I will have to go without Android and iOS.
    – David Pavelka
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 10:21
  • You can write an app in xamarin form which looks exactly same in all three platforms, by using custom renders and behaviours available in xamarin form. but this requires writing some platform specific code too.
    – Yogesh
    Commented Mar 10, 2017 at 10:47
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    If you want exactly the same thing, you can always go with Unity. It will display and behaviour exactly the same on all platforms. There is a learning curve for the UI (but it's simple enough), and code is done through C# too, so no worries there. I think it is a lot easier than going with HTML5/JS/several other web stuffs, as unity is also way more powerful than web frameworks. I'd with 1) xamarin forms. 2) unity. 3) web if were my only option.
    – Luishg
    Commented Dec 31, 2017 at 19:01
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    That may change hopefully in the future: link
    – minus one
    Commented Feb 18, 2018 at 20:01

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