What is Android Jetpack?

Thirty years ago, when someone mentioned a jetpack, your thoughts would turn to astronauts venturing to the moon. Now (at least in dev circles), they’re more commonly associated with venturing into software development solutions. How times have changed!

So, banish all thoughts of activating your MMU. Instead, let’s propel ourselves into action and look at Android Jetpack and how to use it. Our guide will tell you everything you need to know.

What is Android Jetpack?

Android Jetpack is a great collection of software components that developers use to build apps that work on all Android platforms. It assists with tasks such as writing boilerplate code in simple steps and is a great tool for breaking down complex ideas, making them easy to follow.

Developers always get the most up-to-date software version as it’s updated more regularly than the Android platform. Not only that, Jetpack has AndroidX package libraries, which are unbundled from platform APIs. This means there’s backward compatibility for previous versions.

It’s been an important step for app and smartphone development, as initially, developers had lots of challenges to overcome, such as:

Handling activity lifecycles and changes
Dealing with changes to the configuration
Halting memory leaks.

It has four libraries:

Architecture
UI
Foundation
Behavior

Each of these is adaptable, and they can be worked with independently and combined so apps can be run on different versions. This means adding all the components you need into existing code is simple, improving testability. The net result is that it’s easy to craft high-quality apps. All of this, put together, improves the quality of Android services.

We’ll now take a more detailed look at the components of Android Jetpack.

What are the components of Android Jetpack?

We briefly mentioned above that Android Jetpack has four library components for app development. The other main advantage of these is that they use the Kotlin language, a real boon to developer productivity. Now, we’ll walk you through each of these components and explain them in more detail.

Architecture

Architecture Components can be classified in the following ways:

Room: The SQLite mapping library that assists with writing boilerplate codes and query checking.
WorkManager: Provides solutions to manage deferrable and guaranteed background tasks in Android.
Lifecycle: The lifecycle state of Android components is saved in the lifecycle class, which permits other components to observe this state.
ViewModel: This is the component that holds and manages UI-related data.
LiveData: Another lifecycle-aware component that performs its functions according to the lifecycle state of all other application components.
Navigation: The framework for designing the in-app UI, and developers can follow this to structure the application UI.
Paging: Organizes the data loading process so the device battery and network bandwidth perform optimally.
Data Binding: Provides the feature of binding UI components in an activity/fragment to the application's data sources.

Foundation

The foundation components provide backward compatibility, testing, and Kotlin language support, and has the following components:

App Compatibility: This feature ensures backward compatibility with all older versions of Android and provides support for implementing the material design user interface.
Android KTX: Assists with writing better Kotlin code.
Multidex: Gives support to multiple dex files within apps.
Testing: The framework for unit and runtime UI tests in Android.

Behavior

These components help integrate with the main Android services, such as notifications, permissions, sharing, and assistance. They look like this:

Download Manager: Schedule large downloads in the background with the auto-retry support facility.
Media: Has backward-compatible APIs to assist with media playback and routing.
Notifications: Offers backward-compatible notification API. Has Wear and Auto support.
Permissions: Compatibility APIs to check and request permissions in the app.
Preferences: Creates interactive settings screens so users can configure them.
Sharing: Gives a share action suitable for an app's action bar.
Slices: Flexible UI elements to display app data outside the app.

UI components

Lastly, there are UI components. They provide widgets and helpers to make an app simple and intuitive. They look like this:

Animations: Make it easier to move widgets and move between screens.
Auto: Helps with developing Android Auto apps.
Emoji: Works to update emoji fonts on the older platforms.
Fragment: This is the basic unit of composable UI.
Layout: Assists with laying out widgets on different algorithms.
Palette: Provides information from color palettes.
TV: Will assist in developing the components to deliver superior Android TV apps.
Wear: The same as above but to assist with developing Wear apps.

Those are the core components, so we’ll now dive in to look at the benefits and drawbacks of Android Jetpack.

Pros and cons of Android Jetpack

As with all software, developers will face pros and cons, and Android Jetpack is no different, so we’ll discuss the plus points (and the pain points for balance).

Pros of Android Jetpack

Helps developers reduce boilerplate code and compose code that works well across all Android devices.
Developers can follow best practices because it’s easy to work with.
Jetpack’s compose tool makes it simple to build native UI because it integrates with the Android Lifecycle library and requires less code. This makes it easier to maintain in the long run.

Cons of Android Jetpack

Jetpack for WordPress can sometimes be bloated and slow down your site, especially if too many features are activated.
Developers need a WordPress.com account, and this means it also relies on WordPress.com servers for some features.
Jetpack Compose sometimes suffers from bugs and tech issues.
Lastly, it has a limited number of ready-to-use solutions.

Considering the pros and cons, let's look at some of the best use cases for Android Jetpack software.

Use cases for Android JetPack

Android Jetpack Compose tools can be used in various ways to help developers build Android apps, and we’ll consider these now.

First, developers can use less code, which means there’s less need for testing and debugging.

Its declarative model makes code more readable, which in turn makes for faster updates and easier maintenance.

Jetpack Compose compiler helps ensure faster app performance and smoother user experiences.

Other use cases for Android Jetpack include:

Implementing a swipe-to-refresh UI pattern
Testing in Android
Working with modern WebView APIs for Android 5 and above
Supporting different device form factors.

With such great features, it's clear why developers rate Android Jetpack. Where does that mean it’s headed in the future?

What does Android Jetpack mean for app development?

The latest Android releases and library updates aim to improve the developer experience and user interactions. Android Jetpack for app development will ultimately lead to apps that are smarter and much more intuitive to use.

Developers can create apps that enhance usability on devices other than smartphones and tablets. This means there will be many more opportunities to introduce a whole new area of Android app development services in the future.

As Google continues to upgrade and enhance Android Jetpack, there’s much to be positive about:

More expansion: Google will probably continue adding additional elements and functionalities to the Jetpack library. We may see more user interface elements, data management tools, and integration with other technology
Enhanced Integration: Jetpack Compose may become the main framework for UI creation. This may mean more seamless integration and support for Jetpack libraries. Ultimately, this will lead to better developer productivity, and users will get dynamic and interactive experiences.
More support for wearables: Given the popularity of wearable platforms, Android Jetpack may offer more support for them in the future.
Better testing and debugging: Jetpack's testing and debugging facility may receive more investment. This might include enhancing the functionality of currently used testing frameworks, adding new debugging tools, and better integrating testing with other developer tools.
New Platforms: Jetpack will adapt to new platform features as Android develops. Part of this will be a commitment to better privacy controls and more support for different types of devices, such as foldable smartphones.
New features and initiatives: The Jetpack Compose Web feature has been launched, which means compose-based development options will be available on the web platform. In the future, Jetpack may also get better code compatibility and code sharing between web apps created with Jetpack Compose Web and Android apps.
Community Contributions: Developers will be able to contribute more to Jetpack’s future improvements by offering feedback, participating in discussions, testing, and reporting issues within the software program. It’s hoped this will lead to future innovations and improvements.
Open Source Development: Opportunities for more open source development will continue, with developers encouraged to use more transparent processes and public repositories for Android information sharing.

Want the best product development solutions?

Building a brilliantly intuitive Android app is one piece of the jigsaw to successful product launches. Sometimes, you might need something more—a company that can provide everything for you—from developing all the initial ideas and concepts to signing off on the final designs.

Talk to the Tapptitude team today and get the conversation started for all your product development needs.

FAQs on Android Jetpack

What is Jetpack Compose?

This is a UI toolkit for Android apps that allows developers to create UIs declaratively. Jetpack Compose was brought to market to replace XML-based UI frameworks. Many developers found it too prone to errors and made coding harder than it needed to be.

What are the core components of Android Jetpack?

Android Jetpack is divided into four main components. These are Foundation, Architecture, UI, and Behavior. The core components include elements like: