Building a Simple Camera2 API App with Jetpack Compose

Akshar Kalathiya
Stackademic
Published in
2 min readNov 12, 2024
Photo by AltumCode on Unsplash

In the world of Android development, the Camera2 API can be powerful but tricky to implement. In my recent project, I set out to create an Android app using Jetpack Compose that integrates the Camera2 API to capture and display a live camera preview. This post will walk through the process of building the app, covering key challenges like handling permissions, checking device compatibility, and managing the camera preview with Jetpack Compose.

Why I Built This Project

With Jetpack Compose gaining popularity, it’s an exciting time to reimagine complex Android APIs in a more modern way. Most Camera2 API examples still rely on XML for the UI, but I wanted to explore how well this functionality integrates with Compose’s declarative approach. The result is a lightweight, user-friendly app that captures a real-time camera feed, while handling permissions and device compatibility checks seamlessly.

Project Overview

The project has a simple setup:

  • MainActivity: This is the core of the app. It checks for camera permissions, handles permission requests, and displays the camera preview.
  • Camera Preview Component: This component is responsible for initializing the camera and starting the preview using the Camera2 API.

The main steps involved in setting up the camera include checking device compatibility, asking for permissions if needed, and handling any potential issues if permissions are denied. Here’s a closer look at how each of these aspects is handled.

Key Components

1. Handling Camera Permissions

Permissions are managed in MainActivity, where we check if the app has access to the camera. If permission isn’t granted, we request it from the user. Using Jetpack Compose's lifecycle-aware methods, the permission request flow feels smooth and modern.

private val cameraPermissionLauncher = registerForActivityResult(
ActivityResultContracts.RequestPermission()
) { isGranted: Boolean ->
permissionGranted = isGranted
}

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Published in Stackademic

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Written by Akshar Kalathiya

Hi, I'm Akshar, a software developer with a focus on creating intuitive Android applications.

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