Why Jetpack Compose Needs Better Animation Support for Small Dynamic Lists

Summary

This article discusses the limitations of using LazyColumn and Column in Jetpack Compose for small animated lists, particularly when handling enter and exit animations. The author argues that LazyColumn is over-engineered for small lists (under 20 items) and lacks proper support for item enter/exit animations, while Column lacks performance optimizations and animation support. The article introduces compose-animated-list as a solution that provides smooth enter/exit animations, proper item keying, and efficient recomposition for small dynamic lists in Jetpack Compose.