Jetpack Compose or Kotlin XML???

🎯 ***Jetpack Compose* vs XML View System: A Comparative Analysis (2025)**

📌 Introduction

Today, there are two main approaches to developing user interfaces in Android: Jetpack Compose (declarative UI) and XML View System (imperative UI). Jetpack Compose is a modern alternative to legacy XML, developed by Google and first released as stable in 2021.

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⚖️ Comparison Table

Criteria	Jetpack Compose	XML View System
UI Approach	Declarative	Imperative
Language	Kotlin Only	XML + Kotlin/Java
Ease of Writing UI	High (less code)	Low (lots of boilerplate)
State management	Integrated	More complex, requires ViewModel, binding
Flexibility	High	Medium
Support for older libraries	Complex	Excellent compatibility
Updatable	Active development	Supported, but not evolving
Training	Can be difficult for a beginner	Lots of information, established approach
Compatibility	Android 5.0+ (API 21+)	Android 1.0+

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✅ Advantages of Jetpack Compose:

• Modern declarative approach (like Flutter or SwiftUI).
• Less code, fewer bugs, smaller boilerplate.
• Better state management — remember, mutableStateOf, LaunchedEffect, etc.
• Easy to test, since everything is functions.
• Works great with ViewModel, LiveData, Navigation and other Jetpack components.

❌ Jetpack Compose Disadvantages:

• Does not support Android below API 21.
• Some third-party UI libraries have not yet been adapted.
• Migrating from XML takes time and retraining.
• There are still performance issues on complex screens or weak devices.

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✅ XML View System Advantages:

• Fully compatible with most legacy projects.
• Lots of ready-made solutions, UI components, articles and tutorials.
• Robust, stable, time-tested approach.
• Wide support for libraries, including custom View and complex UI components.

❌ XML View System Disadvantages:

• Lots of extra code (findViewById, adapters).
• State management is more complex and requires additional architectural decisions.
• UI markup and logic are separated, which makes it difficult to read and maintain.
• Limited capabilities compared to Compose in terms of animations, adaptation, and reactivity.

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🧠 My opinion as a developer in 2025

As of 2025, Jetpack Compose has already passed the stage of formation and has become the de facto standard for creating new Android applications. It is actively supported and developed by Google, has many compatible libraries, and is actively used in large projects.

I believe that for new applications Compose is the best choice:

• It speeds up development,
• Makes the code cleaner and easier to maintain,
• Makes it easier to work with MVVM architecture and state.

However, in projects with an existing XML architecture, there is no point in forcibly switching to Compose: this will lead to an unnecessary waste of resources. XML still works reliably, especially if the interface does not require high dynamism.

📌 Bottom line: Jetpack Compose is the future of Android development. XML is the past, which is still alive, but not evolving. In 2025, switching to Compose is not a fashion, but a reasonable decision, especially when starting new projects.

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🧩 Jetpack Compose — Пример кода
@Composable
fun GreetingScreen(name: String) {
Column(
modifier = Modifier
.fillMaxSize()
.padding(16.dp)
) {
Text(text = "Привет, $name!", fontSize = 24.sp)
Spacer(modifier = Modifier.height(16.dp))
Button(onClick = { println("Кнопка нажата") }) {
Text("Нажми меня")
}
}
}
**📌 Features:
The entire interface is written in Kotlin.

@Composable is an annotation for UI functions.

Easy to manage indents, colors, styles.

Button and Text are components, not View.**

🧩 XML View System — Sample Code
File: activity_main.xml
` xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:padding="16dp"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent">

<TextView
    android:id="@+id/greetingText"
    android:text="Привет, пользователь!"
    android:textSize="24sp"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>

<Button
    android:id="@+id/button"
    android:text="Нажми меня"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:layout_marginTop="16dp"/>


class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)

    val greetingText = findViewById<TextView>(R.id.greetingText)
    val button = findViewById<Button>(R.id.button)

    button.setOnClickListener {
        greetingText.text = "Кнопка нажата!"
    }
}

}
`
**📌 Features:
Markup and logic are separated (XML + Kotlin).

Uses findViewById or ViewBinding.

More code for the same result.**

🔚 Conclusion
In modern Android development, the choice between Jetpack Compose and XML View System depends on the project goals, requirements for supporting older devices, and the application development strategy. Although XML remains a working and stable solution, its development has virtually stopped.

Jetpack Compose, on the other hand, is actively developing, offers a modern and concise syntax, simplifies working with state and architecture, and allows you to create flexible interfaces faster. All this makes Compose a priority choice in 2025 for most new applications.

📌 My choice is Jetpack Compose because:

it allows you to write UI faster and cleaner,

it integrates more easily with architectural approaches (MVVM),

and scales better in the long term.

However, I find it useful to know both approaches. XML competencies remain important when maintaining old projects and integrating with an existing code base.

Written by Nurlan Badirkhanov
Nurlan in Medium
 #JetpackCompose #AndroidDevelopment #Kotlin #UI #TechNanod
Nurlan Badirkhanov