In a few recent projects, I’ve needed to utilise Google Maps within environments utilising Jetpack Compose. In the early days of Compose this felt light a sought-after piece of functionality – even though it is still being built on, it now seems to be in a place where I can confidently use it. In this… Continue reading
Google Maps in Jetpack Compose: Getting Started
In a few recent projects, I’ve needed to utilise Google Maps within environments utilising Jetpack Compose. In the early days of compose this felt light a sought after piece of functionality – even though it is still being built on, it now seems to be in a place where I can confidently use it. In… Continue reading
Seamless Screenshot Testing for Compose with Screenshotbot
In a recent blog post I took a look at the new Compose Preview Screenshot Testing Tool, provided by Google as a way to enable developers to easily write screenshot tests for their composable UI. When it comes to screenshot testing, writing these tests only represents one part of the process – we also need… Continue reading
Jetpack Compose and Nested Scrolling Interoperability
As we migrate our apps to Jetpack Compose, we need to ensure that all existing functionality remains intact. This means that not only the way our UI looks, but the way that it behaves when users interact with it. When recently migrating part of an app to Jetpack Compose, I experienced a broken coordinator layout… Continue reading
Exploring the Compose Preview Screenshot Testing tool
At Google I/O 2024, one of the announcements that caught my eye was support for Compose Preview Screenshot Testing using the Compose Preview Screenshot Testing tool. Even though this is still in an experimental state, I couldn’t wait to dive in and have a play with this! My new book, CI/CD for Android using GitHub… Continue reading
Migrating from the ClickableText composable to LinkAnnotation
As of Compose Foundation 1.7.0-alpha07, the ClickableText composable has been marked as deprecated, with plans for it to be removed come 1.8.0. ClickableText is often used to handle URLs within text – while the composable handles the click event, we are still required to manually provide styling attributes via annotated strings. To replace ClickableText, we… Continue reading
Exploring the Android Photo Picker
The Photo Picker allow us to reduce friction when working with Media selection on Android, along with creating a simpler + consistent experience for users. In this blog post, we’re going to take a quick look at how we can use it in our own apps – both in Composable UI and within activities/fragments. Looking… Continue reading
Android App Update Prompts using the Google Play Console
Many apps regularly release new versions to the Google Play Store – be it for new features, fixes or more urgent changes due to security or breaking changes. Even though many users have automatic updates enabled, we often see slow adoption for new app releases. Not only does this mean a delay in users seeing… Continue reading
Exploring Jetpack Compose: Aspect Ratio Modifier
In the world of Compose, there are a vast range of modifiers that are available at our disposable. As you build more and more UI with Compose, it’s likely that you’re going to discover new modifiers that you previously were not aware of. For me this week it was the aspectRatio modifier – so in… Continue reading
Adding Custom Actions to Share Sheets in Android 14
When interacting with Android Apps, share sheets are a common component that we’ll interact with when sharing content with other apps and contacts. As developers, we can improve the usability of these share sheets by utilising features such as adding previews for content being shared, as well as implementing direct share targets to commonly interacted… Continue reading