Bringing vision to apps: .NET MAUI introduces multimodal intelligence

Microsoft is making it easier for developers to integrate vision intelligence into their apps with the latest advancements in .NET MAUI. By combining AI and multimodal input, developers can now create richer, image-aware experiences beyond traditional text-based interactions.

Here’s how you can let users capture or select images—and have AI extract actionable data to create projects and tasks in your app:

• Step 1: Launch the Camera

  From the floating action button on the MainPage, users can tap the camera icon, instantly navigating to the PhotoPage. Here, the MediaPicker API handles photo capture and selection.

• Step 2: Handle Media Input

  The PhotoPageModel manages image input using the EventToCommandBehavior triggered by the PageAppearing lifecycle event.

• Step 3: Capture or Select Based on Device

  Decorated with [RelayCommand], the PageAppearing method dynamically decides whether to launch the camera or file picker—using .NET MAUI’s cross-platform APIs like DeviceInfo and MediaPicker to abstract away platform differences.

• Step 4: Display and Interact

  Once the image is received, it’s displayed alongside an optional Editor for user instructions. The prompt is built using StringBuilder, and an instance of IChatClient (from Microsoft.Extensions.AI) handles both text and image data using ChatMessage, which combines TextContent and DataContent.

New .NET 10 sample shows how to create image descriptions using local AI

Microsoft has released a new .NET 10 sample that demonstrates how to generate alternative text for images using C# and local AI models. This new capability allows developers to create accessible and SEO-friendly applications without relying on cloud services. By combining local inference with simple code, it’s now easier than ever to enhance user experience in a privacy-first way.

Here’s what you need to know:

• What is Alt Text?

  Alt (alternative) text helps screen readers describe images to visually impaired users. It also boosts SEO and improves overall user experience.

• Use Local AI Models with Ollama

  Ollama supports vision-capable models like gemma:3, llama3.2-vision, and mistral-small3.2 ideal for analyzing image content and generating rich, natural-language descriptions.

• Run C# Like a Script

  With .NET 10, you can now run C# files directly using dotnet run. This makes it easy to script tasks like image processing and automation.

• See It in Action

  Save your code as alttext.cs, then run it with dotnet run alttext.cs followed by your image path. Ensure Ollama is running and that the image path is valid.

• Pro Tip:

  If your image is large, resize it before encoding. It’ll reduce request size and speed up model inference.

New Power BI Copilot features: broader chat experience and more narrative visuals

Copilot in Power BI continues to evolve with fresh updates aimed at making data exploration even more intuitive. These enhancements build on Microsoft's vision to simplify the way users interact with and gain insights from their data. With each update, Power BI is moving closer to delivering a more conversational and intelligent analytics experience.

Here’s what’s new:

• Ask questions directly in chat: Use natural language to ask questions about your report—and get answers backed by actual visuals from your data.

• Smarter email subscriptions: Copilot now adds a dynamic summary at the top of subscription emails, highlighting key trends, KPIs, and patterns—so you get insights at a glance.

• Narrative visuals in exports: Exported PDFs and PowerPoint files now include Copilot-generated narrative visuals through the “Export as screenshot” feature.

Explore in Power BI just got a major usability boost

Power BI continues to refine the data discovery experience with significant updates to the Explore feature. These latest enhancements focus on making Explore more accessible and flexible, so users can dive into insights faster than ever. Whether you're using Copilot or navigating reports, Explore is now easier to reach and more powerful to use.

Here’s what you need to know:

• What is Explore? Explore is a lightweight, focused experience that lets users quickly adjust visuals — filter, sort, add data, change visual types — and dig into underlying data, all without the complexity of full report building.

• New entry points: You can now launch Explore from Copilot-generated visuals and from visuals in your reports.

• Expanded access: All users with view permissions on supported Fabric artifacts can now use Explore by default — empowering business users, especially those without edit access, to gain quick insights and perform ad hoc analysis.

• Visual calculations: Create custom calculations directly within your exploration by selecting New Visual Calculation in a matrix or visual — unlocking even more possibilities for analysis.

Power Apps launches Enhanced Component Properties, UDF preview & 'Dynamic' rename

The Power Platform team is rolling out new capabilities that make it easier for makers to build powerful, maintainable apps with greater flexibility and reuse. These updates reflect Microsoft's continued investment in enhancing low-code development through Power Fx. Whether you're building simple solutions or complex business applications, these improvements aim to streamline your experience and scale your impact.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Enhanced Component Properties (ECP) – Now generally available, ECP lets you modularize and reuse logic across apps using component libraries.

• User Defined Functions (UDF) – Now in preview, UDFs let you define formulas once and reuse them throughout your app.

• User Defined Types (UDT) – Coming soon to preview, UDTs make it easier to convert ParseJSON output into structured, typed objects.

• Dynamic (formerly UntypedObject) – The UntypedObject is now called Dynamic to better reflect its flexible behavior.

• Void as a Parameter Type – The Void type is no longer supported in UDFs since it added no functional value.

Smarter AI defaults and model choice arrive in Visual Studio Copilot

Microsoft has rolled out a major update to Copilot in Visual Studio, introducing smarter defaults and expanded model options. The improvements aim to give developers greater control, improved performance, and a more seamless coding experience.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Smarter by default: Copilot now runs on GPT-4.1 by default—bringing faster responses, higher-quality suggestions, and overall better performance.

• More model choices: You can now choose from a wider range of models, and your selection stays active across threads for a smoother workflow.

• Easier usage tracking: A new Copilot Consumptions panel lets you monitor usage across chat, inline suggestions, and more. Just click the Copilot badge in the top-right corner of Visual Studio.

• All-in-one Visual Studio Hub: Stay up to date with the latest release notes, videos, social content, and community discussions—all in one place.

Microsoft enhances customer experience with adaptive CCaaS Callback APIs

Microsoft has introduced a new availability-aware callback scheduling capability in Dynamics 365 Contact Center. Designed to improve both customer satisfaction and agent efficiency, the update leverages enhanced CCaaS APIs. This smarter approach to callbacks sets the stage for more personalized and responsive service experiences.

• Why use it?

  Let your customers choose when they want to be contacted — no more frustrating hold times. Callback scheduling also helps your contact center balance CSR workloads more efficiently.

• How it works:

  You can schedule a callback by passing parameters such as the customer’s phone number (DestinationPhoneNumber), a reference to the runtime configuration (ProactiveEngagementConfigID), the CRM contact ID (ContactId), preferred callback time slots (Windows), and optional personalization data in JSON format (InputAttributes).

• Where it fits:

  Callback scheduling can be used in website widgets, mobile app click-to-call features, chatbot escalations, or voice AI agent deflection scenarios.

Copilot evolves: Visual Studio 2022 introduces ‘Next Edit Suggestions’ for smarter code editing

Microsoft has launched Next Edit Suggestions (NES) in Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14, extending GitHub Copilot's capabilities beyond code generation to logical code editing by anticipating your next move anywhere in the file. NES tracks your recent edits and offers predictive insertions, deletions, or replacements, helping streamline refactoring, syntax updates, and variable logic changes with intuitive keyboard or gutter navigation.

• How to enable it: Head to Tools > Options > GitHub > Copilot > Copilot Completions and check "Enable Next Edit Suggestions."

• How it works: When Copilot detects an edit opportunity, it displays the suggestion in a diff view — with red for your original code and green for Copilot’s improved version. You’ll see exactly what’s being changed or removed.

• Working with edits on different lines: If the edit is on a line you're not currently on, Copilot will prompt you to Tab to navigate to it. The arrow in the hint bar shows where the next edit is, so you no longer need to hunt for changes manually.

• Accepting edits: Once you're on the suggested line, press Tab to accept the edit seamlessly.

• Prefer clicking over keyboard shortcuts? Keep an eye out for the arrow in the gutter—it opens the edit suggestion menu, so you can review and apply changes with your mouse.

Power BI delivers June 2025 update with new tools for smarter reporting

Microsoft has released its Power BI June 2025 update, continuing its mission to streamline data analysis and reporting. This month’s improvements bring usability enhancements and pave the way for more intelligent data experiences across organizations. Whether you're an analyst or a business user, these updates aim to make working with your data even more intuitive.

Here are some of the updates:

• General: Sensitivity labels in Power BI Desktop just got smarter—making it easier to protect confidential data while collaborating seamlessly with your team.

• Reporting: Visual calculations get a preview boost this month. These updates move us closer to a code-free future and improve reliability when switching visual types.

• Modeling: Power Query editing for import models is now available on the web—so you can get, transform, and refresh data entirely online, no Desktop needed.

• Mobile: Organization apps are now supported on Power BI mobile, bringing the full power of apps right to your fingertips.

• Visualizations: Create stunning financial visuals with Drill Down Waterfall PRO by ZoomCharts packed with customization options and intuitive drill-downs for deeper insights.

You can view the full list here.