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Android interview prep

Android Interview Questions: Lifecycle to Compose

Android interviews cover the activity and fragment lifecycle, ViewModel and configuration changes, Kotlin coroutines and Flow, Jetpack Compose state, background work, and app quality issues like memory leaks and ANRs.

Practise with AI Interview PrepSee Android developer resume
  • 16 questions answered
  • Kotlin-first
  • Compose and XML
  • 1-5 years level

Sample answers

Answer like someone who has shipped an app.

Link each concept to a real bug or decision when you can.

Model answers for 4 Android questions

Typical round: concepts, architecture discussion, one small coding task

Q: How does ViewModel survive rotation? A: The ViewModel is stored in a ViewModelStore tied to the activity or fragment, which is retained across configuration changes. It is cleared only when the owner is finished for good, so UI state and in-flight work survive rotation.

Q: What causes an ANR and how do you avoid it? A: An ANR happens when the main thread is blocked, for example around 5 seconds without responding to input. Move disk, network and heavy work to coroutines on Dispatchers.IO or Default, and keep the main thread for UI.

Q: How does state work in Jetpack Compose? A: Composables read state, and when that state changes Compose recomposes the functions that read it. Use remember for state in a composable, rememberSaveable to survive rotation, and hoist state to a ViewModel for screen logic.

Q: How do you find memory leaks? A: Use LeakCanary in debug builds. Common causes are holding an Activity context in a long-lived object, unremoved listeners, and coroutines not tied to a lifecycle scope.

What interviewers check

Built for scanners, humans and hiring intent.

  • Lifecycle mastery

    Activity, fragment and process lifecycle questions reveal whether you can avoid crashes and lost state.

  • Kotlin and coroutines

    Scopes, dispatchers, structured concurrency and Flow are standard for modern Android roles.

  • Architecture choices

    MVVM, repository pattern, Hilt and modularisation show how you structure apps that grow.

  • App quality

    ANRs, leaks, startup time and crash rates separate developers who have shipped from those who haven't.

Examples

Copy the structure, not the wording.

These examples show shape and specificity. Add your own facts, metrics, tools and outcomes.

Fundamentals

  • Explain the activity lifecycle.
  • Activity vs fragment?
  • What is an Intent?
  • What are the four Android components?
  • What is a ContentProvider?

Architecture and Kotlin

  • launch vs async in coroutines?
  • StateFlow vs SharedFlow vs LiveData?
  • What is Hilt and why use DI?
  • How does Room work with Flow?
  • MVVM vs MVI?

Practical tasks

  • Fetch and show a list from an API with loading and error states.
  • Schedule a daily sync with WorkManager.
  • Persist a form across rotation.
  • Paginate a long list.
  • Debug a slow RecyclerView or LazyColumn.

Actionable tips

Small edits that lift response rates.

Run through these before every application.

  1. 1Draw the lifecycleBeing able to sketch onCreate to onDestroy, and where state is lost, answers several questions at once.
  2. 2Know coroutine scopesviewModelScope, lifecycleScope and why GlobalScope is discouraged come up often.
  3. 3Prepare a bug storyOne crash or ANR you diagnosed and fixed is a strong answer to many 'tell me about' questions.
  4. 4Be ready for Compose and XMLMany companies run both. Say which you've used and how you'd migrate screens.
  5. 5Rehearse with feedbackBrainUp AI Interview Prep runs Android mock interviews and flags vague answers.

FAQ

Common questions, direct answers.

What are the four main Android components?

Activities, Services, Broadcast Receivers and Content Providers. Each is declared in the manifest and has its own lifecycle and purpose.

What is the activity lifecycle in Android?

onCreate, onStart, onResume when visible and interactive; onPause, onStop when leaving; onDestroy when finished or recreated. Configuration changes like rotation destroy and recreate the activity by default.

What is a ViewModel?

A ViewModel holds UI state and logic and survives configuration changes. It is cleared when its owner activity or fragment is permanently finished.

What is the difference between LiveData and StateFlow?

Both hold observable state. LiveData is lifecycle-aware and Android-specific. StateFlow is Kotlin Flow-based, needs an initial value, and is collected with lifecycle-aware APIs like repeatOnLifecycle.

What are Kotlin coroutines?

Coroutines are lightweight threads for asynchronous code written sequentially. They run in scopes and dispatchers, such as Dispatchers.IO for disk and network work.

What is the difference between launch and async?

launch starts a coroutine that returns a Job and no result. async returns a Deferred whose result you get with await.

What is Jetpack Compose?

Compose is Android's declarative UI toolkit. You describe UI as composable functions of state, and Compose re-runs them when that state changes.

What is recomposition?

Recomposition is Compose re-running composables whose read state has changed. Stable parameters and remembered values help skip unnecessary recompositions.

What is Room?

Room is Android's SQLite abstraction with compile-time checked queries, entities and DAOs. It can return Flow so the UI updates when data changes.

When should you use WorkManager?

For deferrable, guaranteed background work that must run even if the app closes or the device restarts, such as syncing data or uploading logs.

What causes an ANR?

Blocking the main thread, for example with disk or network work, long computations or deadlocks, so the app cannot respond to input for several seconds.

How do you prevent memory leaks in Android?

Avoid keeping Activity or View references in long-lived objects, unregister listeners, use lifecycle-aware scopes, and detect leaks with LeakCanary.

What is dependency injection and why use Hilt?

DI supplies an object's dependencies from outside, making code testable and modular. Hilt is Android's standard DI library built on Dagger with less boilerplate.

What is the difference between Serializable and Parcelable?

Both pass objects between components. Parcelable is Android-specific and faster; Kotlin's @Parcelize generates it automatically.

How do you improve app startup time?

Defer non-critical SDK initialisation, avoid heavy work in Application.onCreate, use baseline profiles, and measure with Macrobenchmark.

How should I prepare for an Android interview?

Revise lifecycle, coroutines, architecture and Compose, build a small app with API, Room and ViewModel, and prepare stories about bugs you fixed in production.

Related guides

Keep improving your application.

  • Android Developer ResumePresent Kotlin, Compose and app-quality wins.View Android resume →
  • Mobile App Developer ResumeCross-platform view of mobile roles.View mobile resume →
  • Core Java Interview QuestionsOlder Android codebases still test Java basics.See Java questions →

Practise Android interview answers

BrainUp AI Interview Prep runs Android mock interviews for your level.

Start interview practiceBrowse templates

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