With .NET 5 shipped, Microsoft is effectively executing on its annual release cadence. .NET 6 is scheduled for November 2021. Based on GitHub issues and planning docs, here is what we can expect from the next Long Term Support (LTS) release.
MAUI (Multi-platform App UI)
The evolution of Xamarin.Forms into MAUI was delayed from .NET 5 to .NET 6. It targets Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows with a single codebase and a single project structure. It will support both MVVM and Model-View-Update (MVU) patterns (Comet).
Minimal APIs
Building on top-level programs, ASP.NET Core will likely introduce lighter-weight ways to define endpoints without MVC controllers, inspired by frameworks like Express.js or Sinatra.
Inner Loop Performance (Hot Reload)
A major focus is “Inner Loop” productivity. We expect a true “Hot Reload” experience across all project types (Web, Desktop, Mobile), allowing us to modify source code while the app is running and see changes instantly without losing state.
Blazor AOT
Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation for Blazor WebAssembly is a top priority. It trades larger download size for significantly faster CPU execution performance.
Summary
.NET 6 will be the release that completes the “One .NET” vision, bringing the mobile/desktop (Xamarin) workloads fully into the fold.
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