Microsoft shipped a major update of its Windows App SDK, a unifying resource for building various kinds of Windows apps with modern technologies.

Windows App SDK 1.1 “The Windows App SDK is the starting point for building and shipping Windows desktop apps (spanning C++ and .NET) with WinUI 3 controls and WebView2 for modernized UI ...

Microsoft has released a new SDK for WebView2, the new version of its WebView control that's powered by the new Chromium-based Edge. Like the browser itself, the SDK only works with Windows 10.

This addition aligns app development with Windows 11, which has had WebView2 Runtime support since it was created.

WebView2, a Chromium-based control for embedding web content into Windows apps, is now generally available to developers building apps based on WinUI, replacing the original EdgeHTML-based WebView.

The company has confirmed that WinUI 3 and the Windows App SDK is on the path to become open-source, but that there's lots of work to be done first before that can happen.

Image: Deagreez/ GETTY Microsoft is bringing its Edge WebView2 runtime for embedding web components into apps to more Windows 10 consumer devices. WebView 2, which is built on Microsoft's Chromium ...

Instead of running as a native Windows app, it now loads the web version of WhatsApp (web.whatsapp.com) using Microsoft’s WebView2 technology.