Latest Windows APIs and technologies

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

Impress your Windows app users (and yourself) with the latest features in Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1.

Moving to a new platform is exciting: lots of new APIs, features, and app ideas. Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 bring plenty of new features to the table, and run on lots of new hardware: from traditional desktop computers, to hand-held touch-screen devices, to the latest phones. Your app has access to amazing graphics libraries, networking features, new purchasing options, new UI controls and a lot more. Don't just port your app, move it to the next level!

You can see a complete list of new features at Windows 8.1: New APIs and features for developers and What's New in Windows Phone 8.1, but here are some highlights.

Note  The Windows Runtime includes many APIs which are used asynchronously so that your apps remain responsive. This form of threading might appear complicated at first, but thanks to the async and await keywords that are part of C# and Visual Basic, it won't take you long to feel comfortable coding in this way. See Quickstart: Calling asynchronous APIs in C# or Visual Basic for a quick introduction.

Introducing Universal Windows apps

Windows Phone 8.1 brings with it an unprecedented level of platform convergence: now you can write Windows Runtime apps for both desktop and phone devices, in the same Visual Studio solution, using the same APIs and controls. For info see Building Universal Windows apps for all Windows devices.

New features in Windows Phone 8.1

Windows Phone 8.1 now supports apps written in JavaScript and WinJS (for more info, see WinJS on Windows Phone 8.1), including support for the Pivot control, App bar, and other controls which adjust themselves to better suit the phone display. Having the same controls available greatly simplifies writing apps for multiple devices.

Other new features in Windows Phone 8.1 include:

New features in Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 continues the work of building a brand-new UI for desktop, laptop, and tablet computers, with support for new controls in both XAML (accessible from C#, C++ and VB) and WinJS (accessible from JavaScript). These controls provide the framework for your app, and look after navigation as well as presenting information and images, and using features such as the camera or contacts.

Some of the most interesting controls are:

Feature	Description
Hub control	A navigation control that provides a framework for your app when you need to display multiple pages of information in a mix of styles, such as the default weather app. JavaScript sample code C# sample code
Rendering the XAML tree into a bitmap	Takes a XAML visual tree, and renders it into a RenderTargetBitmap object. Useful for converting XAML objects into bitmaps for saving or processing. Rendering the XAML tree to a bitmap
DatePicker and TimePicker controls	New XAML controls for quickly adding a standard way for users to select a time or date, without having to write a new control from scratch. DatePicker TimePicker
3D printing support	Drop-in support for 3D printers adds solid model rendering options right into your 3D design app. 3D printer support 3D printing sample Quickstart: 3D printing
DirectX enhancements	New features introduced with DirectX 11.2 help you create state-of-the-art C++ games with amazing graphics. DirectX programming
Windows Store improvements	New monetization models help you make money from your apps when users pay for extra features or in-game supplies. Automatic app updates ensure they're always running the latest version of your app. Windows Store
Text-to-speech	APIs to add high quality speech synthesis to your app. Ideal for education or special needs applications. Speech synthesis
Human Interface Device (HID) support	Use custom third-party hardware built to support the HID protocol. Human interface devices (HID)
Multimedia updates	Improvements to multimedia playback, processing, and audio and video capture. Add advanced image capturing options to your app, such as the ability to take bursts of pictures at a time, or take pictures in the past by storing images before the user taps the shutter. Multimedia
Networking	The new HTTP client API replaces existing networking API. Quickly and simply send and receive data over networks. File transfers can also run in the background. Windows.Web.Http HTTPClient sample
Geofencing	Geofencing allows an app to define a radius around a point of interest and have the system alert the app when entering or exiting that area. Your app can run in the background and get geofence events using the new background task LocationTrigger class. Create an app that performs a specific action when the user reaches a defined location, such as opening a shopping list or location-based game. Windows.Devices.Geolocation.Geofencing
Wi-Fi direct	Using Wi-Fi direct, your app can discover other Wi-Fi direct devices nearby, and set up an ad-hoc network to add on-the-fly peer-to-peer networking support to games. Wi-Fi direct sample

Where to go for more info

There are many sources of help available to you as a developer. In some cases you may want to open a support incident at Microsoft Support, but before you do that you might want to consider these online resources:

• Forums
• Windows Dev Center
• Windows Store Developer Solutions (blog)
• Sample code
• API and Language reference

Related topics

Building Universal Windows apps for all Windows devices

Blog: Windows/Phone 8.1–Platform Specific Code in Universal Projects

Windows 8.1 Product Guide for Developers

Windows 8.1: New APIs and features for developers