Addressing Common Challenges in Complex Android UI Design with Jetpack Compose

Alex Ricciardi

7 days ago5 min read

This article compares XML and Jetpack Compose for building Android UI layouts, it also explores the challenges of designing complex UIs and how Jetpack Compose's declarative approach and Kotlin-based toolkit offer more efficient solutions.

Alexander S. Ricciardi

February 22, 2025

Android tablet with UI and a Pc in the background

In the context of Android app development, designing complex layouts presents a set of common challenges. This is true when using both XML and Jetpack Compose. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, owns Android, and Google manages it as a subsidiary. Google acquired Android in 2005 for just $50 million (Reynolds, 2017). Since then, Google has invested heavily in Android and guided the evolution of its ecosystem, making it the most popular mobile system in the world. This post provides a brief overview of Jetpack Compose and explores common challenges one can face when designing complex layouts in Jetpack Compose.

Jetpack Compose Overview

XML (Extensible Markup Language) has been the cornerstone of Android UI design since its early days in 2008 (Angelo, 2024). XML is a markup language used to structure and organize data, it supports information exchange between computer systems such as websites, databases, and third-party applications (AWS, n.d.). In the Android ecosystems, it is used to define User Interface (UI) layouts and elements. Developers use XML to specify the arrangement of buttons, text views, images, and other UI components. However, since declaring Kotlin the official programming language for Android app development in 2017, Google endorsed Jetpack Compose, a toolkit written in Kotlin, as the preferred solution for building complex Android app UIs, starting in early 2019 (Samojło, 2024; Angelo, 2024). See Table 1 for a list of the main differences between XML and Jetpack Compose.

Table 1

XML vs Jetpack Compose

Note: The table lists the main differences between XML and Jetpack Compose. From “XML vs. Jetpack Compose: A Comparison” by Angelo (2024)

Compose toolkit is part of the Android Jetpack developer library from Google, a suite of toolkits that are used to create and manage UI, manage data, schedule background tasks, and more. The toolkit uses a declarative programming paradigm (Android Developers, n.d.a). This means that developers describe what your UI should contain, and the Jetpack Compose toolkit does the rest not needing to write anything in XML, everything is done through Kotlin code (Android Developers, 2022b).

Compose layouts are built using Kotlin composable functions, which are functions that emit Units describing elements of a UI (Android Developers, n.d.c). In Kotlin, a Unit is a type that represents no meaningful value, similar to void in Java or C++. Additionally, Almost everything in Compose is a Layout such as Box, Column, Row, and BoxWithConstraints. The examples below illustrate how to use a Compose basic function and the Column Layout.

Code Snippet 1

A Basic Composable Function - Kotlin

@Composable
fun ArtistCard() {
    Text("Alfred Sisley")
    Text("3 minutes ago")
}

Output

Note: The code Snippet is an example of a basic Kotlin composable function. From “Compose layout basics” by Android Developers (n.d.c).

Code Snippet 2

A Basic Composable Function Using A Column Layout - Kotlin

@Composable
fun ArtistCardColumn() {
    Column {
        Text("Alfred Sisley")
        Text("3 minutes ago")
    }
}

Output

Note: The code Snippet is an example of a basic Kotlin composable function using a Column Layout. From “Compose layout basics” by Android Developers (n.d.c).

Code Snippet 3

Compose Code Translated to Kotlin and XML

Kotlin:

import android.os.Bundle
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity

class ArtistCardColumnActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.artist_card_column)
    }
}

XML:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:orientation="vertical">

    <TextView
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Alfred Sisley"
        android:textSize="16sp"
        android:padding="8dp"/>

    <TextView
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="3 minutes ago"
        android:textSize="14sp"
        android:padding="8dp"/>

</LinearLayout>

Note: The XML and Kotlin code snippets are the translations of the Compose code from Code Snippet 2.

Note that just by adding the @Composable annotation the compiler will treat the following function as a Composable function, and by encapsulating the Text element within the Column Layout, the text outputs automatically aligned vertically. This shows one of the reasons why Jetpack Compose is generally preferred over XML as it is less verbose. However, XML integrates with Java and C++, whereas Jetpack Compose is exclusively Kotlin-based, so it’s important to consider the application’s needs when choosing between these two approaches. Additionally, large applications are more likely to adopt a hybrid approach, using both XML and Jetpack Compose; for example, an AAA or AA mobile video game is most likely to combine Kotlin, Java, and C++ with both XML and Jetpack Compose for UI/UX.

Common challenges When Designing Complex Layouts ꟷ Jetpack Compose

Whether using XML or Jetpack Compose within an Android application or a PC desktop application for that matter, designing complex UI/UX layouts has common challenges. Complex UIs/UXs need to balance functionality with usability, making the task of designing layouts a daunting one. Nonetheless, developers need to understand what those challenges are and how to address them.

The table below is the results of my research on the matter, it lists the most common challenges in designing UI/UX and general solutions for any app and specific solutions for those built with Jetpack Compose.

Table 2

Challenges and Solutions for Designing Complex App Layouts with Jetpack Compose

Note: The table provides a list describing the most common challenges in designing UI/UX their general solutions for any app and specific solutions for those built with Jetpack Compose. From several sources (TechAffinity, 2023; Blair, 2024; Sakthivel, 2022, Android Developers, n.d.d).

As shown in Table 1, Jetpack Compose provides modern solutions to common challenges in designing UI/UX, challenges like balancing complexity and simplicity, information overload, navigation difficulty, performance issues, and cross-platform consistency by offering a variated of tools. This affirms Google’s strategy for pushing Jetpack Compose as the ideal tool for building complex UI/UX layouts within the Android ecosystem.

To summarize, Jetpack Compose is a powerful tool for Android UI development; it is concise, reactive, and Kotlin-based. Jetpack Compose offers more modern features than XML and is significantly less verbose, saving time, reducing code lines, and minimizing errors. Additionally, it addresses common challenges in designing UI/UX with effective solutions. Overall, Jetpack Compose a well-developed toolkit that reflects Google's vision for Android as a developer-friendly platform meant to guide the future of mobile app design.

References:

Android Developers (n.d.a). Thinking in Compose. Android. https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/mental-model

Android Developers (2022b, September 13). Intuitive: thinking in compose - MAD skills [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zf30a34OOA

Android Developers (n.d.c). Compose layout basics. Android. https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/layouts/basics#:~:text=Composable%20functions%20are%20the%20basic,each%20other%2C%20making%20them%20unreadable:

Android Developers (n.d.d). Jetpack Compose Tutorial. Android. https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/tutorial

Angelo, A. (2024, April 29). XML vs. Jetpack Compose: A Comparison. https://blog.openreplay.com/xml-vs-jetpack-compose--a-comparison/

AWS (n.d.). What is XML? Amazon. https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/xml/#:~:text=Extensible%20Markup%20Language%20(XML)%20lets,might%20give%20suggestions%20like%20these:

Blair, I. (2024, September 21). The best app layout ideas for amazing user experience. Buildfire. https://buildfire.com/best-app-layout-ideas/

TechAffinity (2023, March 15). 7 common app design challenges and ways to overcome them. TechAffinity Blog. https://techaffinity.com/blog/7-common-app-design-challenges-and-ways-to-overcome-them/

Sakthivel, K. (2022, April 11). Common app design challenges and their solutions. UXmatter. https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2022/04/common-app-design-challenges-and-their-solutions.php

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Alex Ricciardi

Addressing Common Challenges in Complex Android UI Design with Jetpack Compose

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