Elevate Your Android UI with Glassy Backgrounds: A Step-by-Step Guide with Kotlin 🌟

Introduction: In the ever-evolving world of mobile app development, staying ahead of the curve in terms of design and user experience is crucial. One trend that has gained significant traction, inspired by iOS, is the use of glassy background UI elements. These elements not only add a touch of elegance but also enhance the overall user interface, making it more visually appealing.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how to implement glassy background UI elements in Android apps using the HokoBlur library (io.github.hokofly:hoko-blur:1.5.3). We’ll provide a step-by-step guide along with code examples to help you integrate this feature seamlessly into your Android applications.

Getting Started: Before we dive into the implementation, let’s ensure that you have the necessary setup in place:

1. Add the HokoBlyr library to your project: You can add the HokoBlyr library to your Android project by including the following dependency in your app-level build.gradle file:

implementation("io.github.hokofly:hoko-blur:1.5.3")

1. Ensure Compatibility: Make sure your project is compatible with AndroidX as HokoBlyr relies on AndroidX artifacts. If you have created new project it uses AndroidX

Implementation Steps: Now that we have the library added to our project, let’s proceed with implementing glassy background UI elements:

1. Define the ImageView in XML:

<ImageView
        android:id="@+id/bgRoot"
        android:layout_width="0dp"
        android:layout_height="0dp"
        android:alpha="0.9"
        android:contentDescription="@string/backgroundimage"
        android:scaleType="centerCrop"
        android:src="@drawable/background" />

In this XML snippet, we’ve defined a ImagView with source file as background image.

1. Initialize the BlurView in your Activity or Fragment:

   val imageView = findViewById<ImageView>(R.id.bgRoot)
   

2. Get Bitmap from ImageView or from drawable

   val bm = (imageView.drawable as BitmapDrawable).bitmap
   

3. Apply Blur Effect and set to imageView:

   val outBitmap: Bitmap = HokoBlur.with(this).blur(bm)
   imageView.setImageBitmap(outBitmap)
   

4. Change Blur Ratio and set to imageView:

   val outBitmap: Bitmap = HokoBlur.with(this).radius(12).blur(bm)
   imageView.setImageBitmap(outBitmap)
   

Conclusion: In this blog post, we’ve explored how to enhance your Android app’s user interface by incorporating glassy background UI elements inspired by iOS. By leveraging the HokoBlyr library, you can easily add a touch of elegance and sophistication to your app’s design.

With the provided step-by-step guide and code examples, you’re well-equipped to integrate this feature into your Android applications seamlessly. So go ahead, elevate your app’s UI, and provide users with an immersive and visually appealing experience. ✨