DEV Community

Cover image for My talks about Android, Kotlin, large screen devices and more in 2024
Thomas Künneth
Thomas Künneth

Posted on

My talks about Android, Kotlin, large screen devices and more in 2024

Let me start with an obvious question. Why would you be interested in an article called My talks about Android, Kotlin, large screen devices and more in 2024? While there certainly is nothing wrong about being proud of having done a couple of presentations, the even greater benefit to others is allowing them to re-live these talks. That's what this article is about. I will be mentioning the presentations I gave in 2024 and link to recordings of them (if they exist), the slide decks, and the corresponding GitHub repositories.

APPDEVCON March 12-15, Amsterdam

Java 17 on Android – why you should care

Android 14 brings partial support for Java 17. Given that most modern Android apps are written in Kotlin, you may be tempted to think “So what?!”. However, support for the current Java LTS release is more than a welcome goodie: it can make your apps faster and more stable, and it will improve your coding workflow. In this talk, we’ll look at the latest additions to the Java language and how they affect us as Kotlin devs. You’ll also learn about additions and changes to the Java standard library and how they help you with your Android apps. Still not convinced? I’ll show you what the Kotlin compiler has to say about Java versions after 11.

Recording of the talk

KotlinConf, May 22–24, Copenhagen

There's more than a mouse - how to truly integrate your app on the Desktop

With Compose Multiplatform, it has become easier than ever to bring your apps to the Desktop. However, to achieve a deep integration into the platform, it takes more than porting the UI. Like mobile platforms, the Desktop has unique interaction features, for example drag and drop, file associations, menu bars, system tray, and the system clipboard. Compose Multiplatform assists you in utilizing some of them, but a true integration takes more. This talk identifies Desktop-specific interaction features and explains how to integrate them into your app, using Compose Multiplatform and some additional libraries.

Recording of the talk  GitHub repo

droidcon Berlin, Jul 3-5, Berlin

Unclutter your Jetpack - an opinionated look at Googles library collection

Remember when Google hit the Reset button to clean up the mess of its Android support libraries? Since then, a ton of new Jetpack libraries have been created. Some are obvious choices, like compose. Others you may not have heard of at all, for example palette and window. Depending on how we count, there are way more than 100 artefacts waiting to be added to our apps. If you are feeling lost you are not alone. In this talk, we'll look at what's there, what's useful, and what's obsolete. And you'll learn about a few true gems.

Recording of the talk GitHub repo

Java User Group Nuremberg, Sep 26

Introduction to Compose Multiplatform

The talk was an introduction to Compose Multiplatform for Java and Kotlin Developers. I focused on Jetpack Compose, Compose Desktop and Jetpack Compose - Java Swing interop. The attendees saw a lot of code, learned about the differences between imperative and declarative UI toolkits, unidirectional data flow and state hoisting. I also introduced ComposePanel and SwingPanel as a means for two-way-interop. The talk was presented in German.

Slides GitHub repo

Kotlin User Group Munich, Nov 21

Keep folding - what's new in foldable support on Android?

It didn't take a crystal ball to predict that Google would release the second iteration of the Pixel Fold in 2024. But what about the APIs and frameworks that make apps look great on foldables and large screens? Last year, while some of the basic building blocks were in place, a lot of (perceived) low-level plumbing still had to be done by the app developer. Think of canonical layouts: shouldn't there be more stuff ... just there? Turns out, now there is. In this talk, we'll look at Material 3 Adaptive and how this set of libraries makes your app look great on smartphones, tablets, and foldables.

Slides GitHub repo

A version of this talk was also presented during DevFest Nuremberg (Nov 9, Nuremberg) and Rheinwerk KKON (Sep 16, online)

DevFest Milano, Nov 23, Milano

Hey Google, how can I build something like Circle to search? (DevFest Milano)

Some premium devices offer a cool feature called Circle to search. It lets you identify objects, songs, and more just by pointing your phone's camera. Now, what might be needed to build something like that? What technologies, libraries and tools could be involved? Let's find out. In this talk, I will introduce you to key components and show how to build a simplified version of Circle to Search.

Slides GitHub repo

Top comments (0)