Supported features for Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 apps

[ This article is for Windows Phone 8 developers. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation. ]

This topic describes the features that are available in Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 apps.

Windows Phone 8 APIs

Most features and APIs available in Windows Phone 8 apps continue to be available for Silverlight 8.1 apps. Some of these APIs will behave differently when called from a Silverlight 8.1 app. For a list of all affected APIs, see Platform compatibility and breaking changes for Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 apps.

Features that are supported only in Silverlight 8.1 apps

There are a few features you can use only in apps that target Silverlight 8.1. These include:

Contact bindings for the People Hub

Your app can register as a photos provider for contacts in the People Hub. For information about implementing this feature, see Implementing contact bindings in a Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 app.

Online media extensibility for the Photos Hub

Your app can register as a photos provider that’s displayed in the Photos Hub. For information about implementing this feature, see Implementing online media extensibility in a Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 app.

Seamless VoIP call upgrade

Silverlight 8.1 VoIP apps can seamlessly upgrade calls from cellular to VoIP when it is supported by both the caller and the callee. For information about implementing this feature, see Upgrade calls from cellular to VoIP in a Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 app.

Windows Phone 8.1 features supported for Silverlight 8.1 apps

Most of the features that are supported for Windows Phone Store apps also can be used in Silverlight 8.1 apps. The following table lists supported features.

Feature

Documentation link

Development tools, including new tools for testing apps

Test app features in Windows Phone Emulator

Test and troubleshoot apps with the Windows Phone Developer Power Tools

Accessibility (UI Automation, large text, high contrast)

Accessibility

Roaming app data

Quickstart: Roaming app data (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

File access, including input and output streams and Windows.Storage..::.KnownFolders

Quickstart: Reading and writing a file (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

Storage enhancements, data backup and restore, removable storage

PathIO

FileIO

Windows.Storage.Compression

Windows.Storage.AccessCache

Data enhancements

Windows.Data.Xml.Dom

Windows.Data.Xml.Xsl

Storage pickers and providers

Working with file pickers

Share contract

Sharing and exchanging data (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

Push Notifications with Windows Push Notification Service (WNS)

Push notification overview (Windows Store apps)

Choosing MPNS or WNS for a Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 app

Tiles, badges, and notifications

Tiles, badges, and notifications (Windows Store apps)

Background tasks

Supporting your app with background tasks (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

Background transfers

Transferring data in the background (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

App-to-app single sign-on

Single sign-on for apps and websites

Networking (Http, AtomPub, Syndication)

Connecting to networks and web services (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

Windows.Web.Http

Windows.Web.AtomPub

Windows.Web.Syndication

Web authentication broker

Quickstart: Connecting to an online identity provider (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

Credential Locker

Storing user credentials using the Credential Locker (Windows Store apps using JavaScript and HTML)

Bluetooth LE

Supporting Bluetooth Devices

RFComm

Supporting Bluetooth Devices

Wi-Fi Direct

Windows.Devices.WiFiDirect

Enumerating devices

Enumerating devices (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

NFC secure payment

Windows.ApplicationModel.Wallet

InputPane

InputPane

Email and attachments

Sending an email message

Contacts and Appointments

Managing user contacts and appointments (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

Sensors

Choosing the right sensors to use (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

Geolocation and Geofencing

Detecting geolocation (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

Capturing photos and video using the Windows.Media.Capture APIs

Capturing or rendering audio, video, and images (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

Media editing

Windows.Media.Editing

Media transcoding

Transcoding (Windows Store apps using C#/VB/C++ and XAML)

Audio effects

Windows.Media.Effects

Windows Imaging Component (WIC)

Windows Imaging Component

Direct2D

Direct2D

DirectWrite

DirectWrite

Microsoft Media Foundation

Microsoft Media Foundation