What's new in Compose Multiplatform 1.6.10

Here are the highlights for this feature release:

Breaking change: new Compose compiler Gradle plugin
Support for multimodule projects with Compose Multiplatform resources
Experimental navigation library
Lifecycle library with experimental common ViewModel
Known issue: MissingResourceException

See the full list of changes for this release on GitHub.

Dependencies

Gradle plugin org.jetbrains.compose, version 1.6.10. Based on Jetpack Compose libraries:
Lifecycle libraries org.jetbrains.androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-*:2.8.0. Based on Jetpack Lifecycle 2.8.0.
Navigation libraries org.jetbrains.androidx.navigation:navigation-*:2.7.0-alpha07. Based on Jetpack Navigation 2.7.7.

Breaking change: new Compose compiler Gradle plugin

Starting with Kotlin 2.0.0, Compose Multiplatform requires the new Compose compiler Gradle plugin. See the migration guide for details.

Across platforms

Resources

Stable resource library

The bulk of the resource library API is now considered stable.

Support for multimodule projects with Compose Multiplatform resources

Starting with Compose Multiplatform 1.6.10, you can store resources in any Gradle module and in any source set, as well as publish projects and libraries with resources included.

To enable multimodule support, update your project to Kotlin version 2.0.0 or newer and Gradle 7.6 or newer.

Configuration DSL for multiplatform resources

You can now fine-tune the Res class generation in your project: alter the modality and the assigned package for the class, as well as choose conditions for generating it: always, never or only with explicit dependency on the resource library.

See the documentation section for details.

Public function for generating resource URI

The new getUri() function allows you to pass platform-dependent URI of a resource to external libraries, so that they can access the file directly. See documentation for details.

Plurals for string resources

You can now define plurals (quantity strings) along with other multiplatform string resources. See documentation for details.

Support three-letter locales

Language qualifiers now support alpha-3 (ISO 639-2) codes for locales.

Experimental byte array functions for images and fonts

You can try out two functions that allow fetching fonts and images as byte arrays: getDrawableResourceBytes() and getFontResourceBytes(). These functions are aimed to help with accessing multiplatform resources from third-party libraries.

See details in the pull request.

The common navigation library, based on Jetpack Compose, is now available. For details, see the documentation.

Key limitations in this version:

Deep links (handling or following them) are not supported yet.
The BackHandler function and predictive back gestures are supported only on Android.

Lifecycle library

The common lifecycle library based on Jetpack lifecycle is now available, see the docs for details.

The library was primarily introduced to support common navigation functionality, but it also offers an experimental cross-platform ViewModel implementation, and includes a common LifecycleOwner interface you can implement for your projects.

Compose Multiplatform also provides a general ViewModelStoreOwner implementation.

Support for Kotlin 2.0.0

Kotlin 2.0.0 came out along with the new Gradle plugin for the Compose compiler. To use Compose Multiplatform with the latest compiler version, apply the plugin to the modules in your project (see the migration guide for details).

Desktop

Basic support of BasicTextField2

The BasicTextField2 Compose component is now supported on a base level for desktop targets. Use it if your project absolutely requires it, or to test it out, but keep in mind that there may be uncovered edge cases. For example, BasicTextField2 does not support IME events right now, so you won't be able to use virtual keyboards for Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.

Full support for the component and support for other platforms is planned in the Compose Multiplatform 1.7.0 release.

alwaysOnTop flag for DialogWindow

To avoid your dialog windows being overwritten, you can now use the alwaysOnTop flag for a DialogWindow composable.

See the pull request for details.

iOS

Accessibility support improvements

In this release:

dialogs and popups are properly integrated with accessibility features,
interop views created using UIKitView and UIKitViewController are now reachable by Accessibility Services,
LiveRegion semantics are supported by the accessibility API,
accessibility scrolling is supported,
HapticFeedback is supported.

Selection container magnifier for iOS 17 and higher

Compose Multiplatform selection containers on iOS now emulate the native magnifying tool.

Screenshot of iPhone chat app with the text magnifier active

Software keyboard inset for Dialog centering

Behavior of Dialog composables is now aligned with Android: when a software keyboard appears on screen, dialogs are centered considering the effective height of the application window. There is an option to disable this, with the DialogProperties.useSoftwareKeyboardInset property.

Web

Kotlin/Wasm support in Alpha

The experimental Compose Multiplatform for Web is now in Alpha:

Most of the Web functionality mirrors Compose Multiplatform for Desktop.
The team is committed to bringing the Web platform to release.
Next step, a thorough browser adaptation of most components.

Follow the first app tutorial to see how to set up and run a web app with shared UI code.

Basic IME keyboard support

The web target for Compose Multiplatform now has basic support for virtual (IME) keyboards.

Gradle plugin

Possibility to modify the macOS minimum version

In previous versions, it wasn't possible to upload a macOS app to the App Store without including an Intel version. You can now set a minimum macOS version for your app among platform-specific Compose Multiplatform options:

compose.desktop {
    application {
        nativeDistributions {
            macOS {
                minimumSystemVersion = "12.0"
            }
        }
    }
}