Why I chose Jetpack Compose over XML

I did not switch to Jetpack Compose because it was trendy. I switched because XML plus fragments was slowing me down. Every UI tweak felt like context switching between files, adapters, and lifecycle edge cases. For small changes, this was manageable. For fast product iteration, it became a bottleneck.

Compose made UI logic easier to reason about. State is visible, composables are reusable, and screen behavior is easier to trace. I can prototype quickly, test small pieces, and refine interactions without wrestling layout files and binding setup. That speed difference is very real in day-to-day work.

One underrated advantage is consistency. Once I created reusable components for cards, chips, and input patterns, new screens started looking coherent by default. Design quality improved not because I worked harder, but because the system made good decisions easier to repeat.

Performance concerns are valid, but for my use cases Compose has been solid when combined with clean state management. Most UI issues I faced were from poor state flow or expensive recomposition patterns, not Compose itself. Once I fixed architecture choices, the UI felt smooth and dependable.

If you are deciding between XML and Compose today, I would choose Compose for almost all greenfield apps. It improves velocity, reduces glue code, and makes modern Android development feel like one connected system instead of scattered layers.