Platform-specifics allow you to consume functionality that's only available on a specific platform, without implementing custom renderers or effects.

The following platform-specific functionality is built into Xamarin.Forms:

The process for consuming a platform-specific through XAML, or through a fluent code API is as follows:

1. Add a xmlns declaration or using directive for the Xamarin.Forms.PlatformConfiguration namespace.
2. Add a xmlns declaration or using directive for the namespace that contains the platform-specific functionality:
   1. On iOS, this is the Xamarin.Forms.PlatformConfiguration.iOSSpecific namespace.
   2. On Android, this is the Xamarin.Forms.PlatformConfiguration.AndroidSpecific namespace. For Android AppCompat, this is the Xamarin.Forms.PlatformConfiguration.AndroidSpecific.AppCompat namespace.
   3. On the Universal Windows Platform, this is the Xamarin.Forms.PlatformConfiguration.WindowsSpecific namespace.
3. Apply the platform-specific from XAML, or from code with the On<T> fluent API. The value of T can be the iOS, Android, or Windows types from the Xamarin.Forms.PlatformConfiguration namespace.

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Note that attempting to consume a platform-specific on a platform where it is unavailable will not result in an error. Instead, the code will execute without the platform-specific being applied.

Platform-specifics consumed through the On<T> fluent code API return IPlatformElementConfiguration objects. This allows multiple platform-specifics to be invoked on the same object with method cascading.

For more information about platform-specifics, see Consuming Platform-Specifics and Creating Platform-Specifics.