✨ Project Sparkles: how Compose is changing Android Studio (with Chris Sinco)

We use Android Studio every day, and appreciate how its rich feature set makes our job easier. Most people know that Android Studio is built on the IntelliJ Platform, the same that underpins the popular IntelliJ IDEA from JetBrains, which has seen lasting success for over 20 years. It’s a solid, expansive, and by far the best foundation on which we could stand on to deliver Android-oriented goodies.

However, some parts of the IntelliJ Platform show the signs of time; in particular its UI framework, Swing, is proving the most limiting, having been around for almost 30 years. Don’t get us wrong — it works, and the IDEs themselves prove you can ship complex UIs by using Swing on the IntelliJ Platform. But as we looked at how nice it is to develop UIs on Android by using Jetpack Compose, we thought: why don’t we do the same?

Enter Project Sparkles, which aims at gradually introducing new high-quality, polished UI surfaces in Android Studio, developed in Compose for Desktop, with all the bells and whistles you can expect from a top-tier interface. In this talk, we’ll cover how Project Sparkles is impacting the development of Android Studio, addressing long-standing user feedback, and how we’re working together with other teams at Google and JetBrains to build a framework to make your favourite IDE even better and easier to understand.

We’ll demonstrate a few examples of features already shipping that are powered by Project Sparkles, explain what our goals and ambitions are, and even show some sneak peeks of things you may see in a future Studio version. UI enthusiasts, assemble!

Transcript

1. How Compose is changing Android Studio Project Sparkles Chris Seb
2. WHY
3. ➡️ Better UX Better Dev UX
4. ⏩️ Velocity to produce and ship ➡️ Better UX Better Dev UX
5. $ IDE more usable & crafted ⏩️ Velocity to produce and ship ➡️ Better UX Better Dev UX
6. % for all developers ⏩️ Velocity to produce and ship $ IDE more usable & crafted ➡️ Better UX Better Dev UX
7. ! Technical Di!culties ? ? ?
8. Droidcon London 202 4 3
9. Droidcon London 202 4 3
10. Compose for Desktop JetBrains Jewel SYNERGY!
11. Compose for Desktop JetBrains Jewel SYNERGY!
12. Android Studio IntelliJ Platform " # # " " # " #
13. Android Studio IntelliJ Platform Compose @ JetBrains Compose @ Google " # # " " # " #
14. Android Studio IntelliJ Platform Compose @ JetBrains Compose @ Google " # # " " # " #
15. Android Studio IntelliJ Platform Compose @ JetBrains Compose @ Google " # # " " # " #
16. ADB Podcast Studio Jewelry
17. SHOW ME
18. Task-based profilers $ Koala.2
19. $ Koala.2 Task-based profilers ✦ First testing grounds ✦ Make profiling easier to understand ✦ No Compose bugs reported
20. $ Koala.2 Task-based profilers ✦ First testing grounds ✦ Make profiling easier to understand SUCCESS ✨ ✦ No Compose bugs reported
21. Add Device flow & Ladybug.2
22. Add Device flow & Ladybug.2
23. Add Device flow & Ladybug.2 ✦ Refresh outdated design ✦ Optimize for common cases ✦ First Compose- based dialog ✦ Table layout
24. AI UI
25. AI UI
26. AI UI
27. AI for UI
29. Gemini in Android Studio ' Meerkat.1 ✦ Feature parity with Swing ✦ Rewriting chat in Compose
30. Gemini in Android Studio ' Meerkat.1 ✦ Feature parity with Swing ( ✦ Rewriting chat in Compose
31. Gemini in Android Studio ' Meerkat.1 TAKE ADVANTAGE OF COMPOSE! ✦ Manage complexity ✦ Increase polish
32. Gemini in Android Studio ' Meerkat.1
33. Gemini in Android Studio ' Meerkat.1
34. Gemini in Android Studio ' Meerkat.1
35. Gemini in Android Studio ' Meerkat.1
36. Gemini in Android Studio ' Meerkat.1
37. MARKDOWN PREVIEW
38. MARKDOWN PREVIEW 325
39. Markdown preview ) ?????? Working with JetBrains! …no, we don’t have an ETA We’re very excited!
40. Markdown preview Why only now? JCEF ) ??????
41. Markdown preview ) ?????? ✅ Basic Markdown rendering Gemini uses this
42. Markdown preview ) ?????? ✅ Basic Markdown rendering ⏳ Actual Markdown preview Gemini uses this ✦ Tables, images, and more ✦ Scroll syncing ✦ Actually putting it in the IDE
43. Markdown preview ) ??????
44. WHAT NEXT
45. Compose First
46. Compose First NEW FEATURES
47. Compose First NEW FEATURES …though we may replace old UI if needed
48. Interop
49. Interop
50. Easier to learn
51. DAYS WEEKS Easier to learn
52. DAYS WEEKS Easier to learn
53. What is our approach?
54. ,️ Microinteractions
55. ,️ Microinteractions
56. ,️ Microinteractions
57. . Adaptive layout
60. / Motion
62. Material Expressive Motion
64. 0 Cohesion
71. ALMOST DONE ☕️ co!ee soon!
72. Say it one more time!
73. Say it one more time! These are early ideas and explorations
74. NO PROMISES NO ETAS CAN & WILL CHANGE
75. Beginning of a JOURNEY
76. Beginning of a JOURNEY ➡️ Better UX Better Dev UX
77. Benefits the whole ecosystem
78. QUALITY RAISE THE BAR
79. Thank you!