Jetpack Compose Essentials - 2026 Edition

Developing Android Apps with Jetpack Compose, Kotlin, and Android Studio

Neil Smyth

• Publisher: Payload Publishing
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Computer Science
• eBook ISBN:
  9781965764442
• Subtopic: Operating Systems
• Index: Computer Science

Jetpack Compose Essentials - 2026 Edition is a comprehensive guide to building Android apps using Jetpack Compose, Android Studio, Material Design 3, and the Kotlin programming language.

The book begins with setting up the Android Studio development environment, followed by an introduction to Kotlin, covering data types, operators, control flow, functions, lambdas, and coroutines. You will also learn how to accelerate app development using AI.

With this foundation established, the focus shifts to Jetpack Compose, Google's modern toolkit for creating native user interfaces. The book provides an in-depth exploration of Compose components and layout structures, including rows, columns, boxes, flows, pagers, and lists. Additional topics include Android project architecture and the Compose development tools available in Android Studio.

Key concepts such as state management, modifiers, and navigation components are examined in detail. Additional chapters demonstrate how to create reusable layout components, implement biometric authentication for security, and integrate Gemini AI features into your apps.

Further coverage includes screen navigation, graphics rendering, animations, transitions, and gesture handling. Data management strategies involving view models, Room databases, live data, and the Database Inspector are also discussed.

With a basic understanding of programming, Android Studio installed, and access to a Windows, Mac, or Linux system, getting started is just a step away.

Table of contents

• 1. Start Here
• 2. Setting up an Android Studio Development Environment
• 3. A Compose Project Overview
• 4. An Example Compose Project
• 5. Creating an Android Virtual Device (AVD) in Android Studio
• 6. Using and Configuring the Android Studio AVD Emulator
• 7. A Tour of the Android Studio User Interface
• 8. Testing Android Studio Apps on a Physical Android Device
• 9. The Basics of the Android Studio Code Editor
• 10. An Overview of the Android Architecture
• 11. An Introduction to Kotlin
• 12. Kotlin Data Types, Variables and Nullability
• 13. Kotlin Operators and Expressions
• 14. Kotlin Control Flow
• 15. An Overview of Kotlin Functions and Lambdas
• 16. The Basics of Object-Oriented Programming in Kotlin
• 17. An Introduction to Kotlin Inheritance and Subclassing
• 18. Introducing Gemini AI in Android Studio
• 19. Building Android Apps using AI
• 20. An AI Creation Tutorial
• 21. An Overview of Compose
• 22. A Guide to Gradle Version Catalogs
• 23. Composable Functions Overview
• 24. An Overview of Compose State and Recomposition
• 25. An Introduction to Composition Local
• 26. An Overview of Compose Slot APIs
• 27. A Compose Slot API Tutorial
• 28. Using Modifiers in Compose
• 29. Annotated Strings and Brush Styles
• 30. Composing Layouts with Row and Column
• 31. Box Layouts in Compose
• 32. An Introduction to FlowRow and FlowColumn
• 33. A FlowRow and FlowColumn Tutorial
• 34. Custom Layout Modifiers
• 35. Building Custom Layouts
• 36. A Guide to ConstraintLayout in Compose
• 37. Working with ConstraintLayout in Compose
• 38. Working with IntrinsicSize in Compose
• 39. Coroutines and LaunchedEffects in Jetpack Compose
• 40. An Overview of Lists and Grids in Compose
• 41. A Compose Row and Column List Tutorial
• 42. A Compose Lazy List Tutorial
• 43. Designing Adaptable List-Detail Layouts
• 44. Lazy List Sticky Headers and Scroll Detection
• 45. A Compose Lazy Staggered Grid Tutorial
• 46. VerticalPager and HorizontalPager in Compose
• 47. Compose Visibility Animation
• 48. Compose State-Driven Animation
• 49. Canvas Graphics Drawing in Compose
• 50. Working with ViewModels in Compose
• 51. A Compose ViewModel Tutorial
• 52. An Overview of Android SQLite Databases
• 53. Room Databases and Compose
• 54. A Compose Room Database and Repository Tutorial
• 55. Navigation 3 and NavDisplay
• 56. A Navigation 3 NavDisplay Tutorial
• 57. NavigationSuiteScaffold Bar and Rail Navigation
• 58. Detecting Gestures in Compose
• 59. An Introduction to Kotlin Flow
• 60. A Jetpack Compose SharedFlow Tutorial
• 61. Integrating Gemini AI into Android Apps
• 62. Preparing the Gemini Firebase AI Logic Project
• 63. A Gemini AI Tutorial
• 64. Using Gemini AI for Video Analysis
• 65. Gemini AI Image Generation
• 66. Introducing Glance Widgets
• 67. A Glance Widget Tutorial
• 68. An Android Biometric Authentication Tutorial
• 69. Working with Compose Theming
• 70. A Material Design 3 Theming Tutorial
• Index