In the previous chapter, we learned how to download and install the Visual Studio for Mac IDE as well as the Xamarin Platform SDKs and components for both the iOS and Android platforms. We also covered some of the features contained in the Visual Studio for Mac IDE and then dived into learning about the Xamarin Mobile platform, as well as the benefits of developing Native versus Xamarin.Forms apps.

We learned how to create a cross-platform Xamarin project for both the iOS and Android platforms, and constructed the user interface by using the XAML syntax and writing the C# code that will be used to communicate with the XAML to populate a ListView control with planet names.

Finally, we learned how to set breakpoints and create conditional breakpoints, as well as using the built-in debugger in the Visual Studio for Mac IDE, which allows you to step through your code and use the Immediate window to print the content of your variables.

This chapter will focus primarily on how to develop a native Android app using Visual Studio for Mac, Xamarin.Android, and C#. You'll learn how to use and work with the Visual Designer in the Visual Studio for Mac IDE to construct the user interface for our PhotoLibrary app using XML and implement Material Design in your apps, as well as create your own custom themes and then apply theming to your app.

To end this chapter, you'll learn how to provide the necessary permissions to AndroidManifest.xml so that we can interact with the device camera and photo album, before launching the app in the Android emulator.

This chapter will cover the following points:

• Creating a native app for the Android platform using Visual Studio for Mac
• Constructing the user interface for the Photo Library app using the Android Visual Designer
• Incorporating the Xamarin Media Plugin NuGet package
• Setting up camera and photo album permissions
• Creating custom themes and styles and applying these to the Photo Library app
• Interacting with the device camera and photo album
• Launching the Photo Library app using the Android emulator