Devices and sensors
May 21, 2026 ยท View on GitHub
This article provides an index of development features that are related to scenarios involving devices and sensors in Windows apps.
Note
The Windows App SDK currently does not provide APIs related to devices and sensors scenarios.
Windows OS features
Windows 10 and later OS releases provide a wide variety of APIs related to data and files scenarios for apps. These features are available via a combination of WinRT and Win32 (C++ and COM) APIs provided by the Windows SDK.
WinRT APIs
The following articles provide information about features available via WinRT APIs provided by the Windows SDK.
| Article | Description |
|---|---|
| Devices, sensors, and power | Learn about the breadth of features available for integrating external devices and sensors into your app. |
| Enumerate devices | Learn how to find devices that are internally connected to the system, externally connected, or detectable over wireless or networking protocols. |
| Sensors | Learn how to access sensors such as accelerometers, compasses, and gyrometers. |
| Bluetooth | Learn how to integrate classic Bluetooth (RFCOMM) and Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) into your apps. |
| Printing and scanning | Learn how to print and scan from your app. |
| 3D printing | Learn how to add 3D printing functionality to your app. |
| Get battery information | Learn how to get detailed battery information, including the charge, capacity, and status of a battery or aggregate of batteries. |
Win32 (C++ and COM) APIs
The following articles provide information about features available via Win32 (C++ and COM) APIs provided by the Windows SDK.
| Article | Description |
|---|---|
| Sensor API | Learn how to access sensor data using Win32 APIs. |
| Printing | Learn how to print documents using Win32 APIs. |
| Power management | Learn how to access power management features using Win32 APIs. |
.NET features
The .NET SDK also provides APIs related to device scenarios for WPF and Windows Forms apps.
| Article | Description |
|---|---|
| Printing and print system management (WPF) | Learn how to print documents using .NET APIs for WPF apps. |
| Print support (Windows Forms) | Learn how to print documents using .NET APIs for Windows Forms apps. |
| Power management in Windows Forms | Learn how to access power management features using .NET APIs for Windows Forms apps. |