Microsoft’s verified WinUI Gallery announcement is for version 2.9, not 3.0. Built on Windows App SDK 2.0, the release adds interactive examples for SystemBackdropElement, SplitMenuFlyoutItem and conditional XAML, alongside updated transition, animation and media samples. Microsoft’s official releases record reviewed for this article lists v2.9.3 as the latest release, so the “3.0 is now out” wording should not be treated as a confirmed current version.
What WinUI Gallery is
WinUI Gallery is Microsoft’s companion app for exploring WinUI 3 and Windows App SDK APIs. It combines interactive controls, styles, tools and source-code snippets with adaptive-layout examples and design and accessibility guidance. Developers can inspect a working sample, read the corresponding code and use the repository as a reference while building a Windows app.
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The Gallery is available as a Microsoft Store app, and its source is published in Microsoft’s WinUI-Gallery repository. The repository describes the purpose directly: “This app demonstrates all of the WinUI 3 controls and styles available to make a modern Windows app with the Windows App SDK.”
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What is new in the verified 2.9 release
SystemBackdropElement
The new SystemBackdropElement sample demonstrates Mica and Acrylic as XAML elements that can sit inside an application’s visual tree. That matters when a developer needs backdrop material on a custom surface or in a transparent-window layout rather than only through a conventional window-level configuration. The sample provides a concrete way to study how those materials participate in a WinUI composition.
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SplitMenuFlyoutItem
SplitMenuFlyoutItem shows a menu entry with two related behaviors: a primary action and an associated submenu. It is useful for commands that have a default operation but also expose variants or additional choices without forcing a separate top-level menu item.
Conditional XAML
The release includes an example of implementing IXamlCondition and using a conditional XAML namespace to gate markup. This lets a sample demonstrate how XAML can be included or excluded according to a condition, a pattern that can help when targeting different capabilities or API availability. Treat this as an API demonstration, not a guarantee that every conditional pattern will remain unchanged.
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Other updated samples
- Two additional
NavigationTransitionInfooptions demonstrate more navigation-transition behavior. - A
ConnectedAnimationexample now usesItemsRepeater, showing how connected motion can be paired with a flexible, data-driven layout. - The
MediaPlayerElementsample adds local-file playback, covering media stored on the device rather than only remote content.
Gallery version versus Windows App SDK version
These numbers describe different things. The app release is called WinUI Gallery 2.9; the Windows App SDK used as its base is 2.0. They are not two labels for the same release.
| Item | Verified detail |
|---|---|
| Gallery announcement | Version 2.9, announced April 30, 2026 |
| Windows App SDK base | Windows App SDK 2.0 |
| Latest release listed in the official releases record reviewed | v2.9.3 |
| “3.0 is now out” claim | Not confirmed by those official release records |
A later 3.0 release could exist outside the records reviewed here, but developers should verify the version in the current Microsoft Store listing or GitHub releases page before changing a project’s assumptions or documentation.
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How developers can use it
- Install or browse: Get the Gallery through the Microsoft Store, or open the WinUI-Gallery source repository to read and build the samples.
- Find the relevant API: Use the sample list to open controls, styles, navigation, media, layout or backdrop examples.
- Run the interaction: Change the sample’s options and observe the visual or behavioral result before copying code.
- Inspect the implementation: Read the XAML and accompanying code to see required namespaces, event handlers and API usage in context.
- Check stability labels: Experimental examples are marked in the repository; do not treat them as settled platform contracts.
Requirements and experimental-API warning
The repository README states that building the Gallery requires Visual Studio 2022 or later. Running the app requires Windows 10 or later. The Gallery bundles the Windows App SDK runtime it uses, while the SDK version is pinned in standalone.props.
Microsoft also says the Gallery uses an experimental Windows App SDK to demonstrate upcoming features. Experimental APIs can change or be removed before reaching a stable release, and the repository labels examples that rely on them. If you copy one into production code, isolate it behind your own abstraction and check the Windows App SDK documentation for the version your application actually targets.
Should you download it?
For Windows developers working with WinUI 3, the Gallery is a practical learning and reference tool rather than a separate framework. Version 2.9 is especially useful if you need backdrop materials, split menu commands, conditional XAML, newer navigation transitions, connected animations with ItemsRepeater or local media playback. Use the Store build for quick exploration; use the repository when you need to trace a sample’s complete implementation or build it yourself.
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