Kotlin Devs Diversify: Android is 25% Now

Conference & community

• Kotlin Conf attendance has grown from roughly 1,150 (2017) to about 2,100 (2025) and sold out.
• Organizers aim to keep the event community-focused rather than scale purely for size.
• Kotlin Slack and the wider JetBrains community emphasize being welcoming to newcomers.
• The community composition has diversified: early conferences were ~75% Android developers; now Android represents about 25–30% as Kotlin sees wider server and multiplatform adoption.

Platform & ecosystem trends

• Kotlin is used across server, mobile, and cross-platform projects (including non-traditional examples such as postal services).
• Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP)
  • Adoption has been slower than desired but is gaining traction.
  • Compose Multiplatform reaching stability for iOS is expected to accelerate KMP adoption because more teams want to share UI across platforms.
  • Google creating Kotlin Multiplatform libraries is a positive signal for the ecosystem (with a light joke about libraries still being prefixed androidX).
• JetBrains encourages teams to choose between native and shared UI approaches; there is demand for both strategies.

AI and developer productivity

• JetBrains is investing in AI across its products. AI is seen as impactful but not a “silver bullet.”
• Benefits
  • Large productivity gains in areas like app prototyping and routine tasks.
• Risks and concerns
  • Potential to generate low-quality (“spaghetti”) code.
  • Fewer opportunities for juniors to learn by doing.
  • Possible erosion of critical thinking and mentorship.
  • Shifts in the job market and developer roles.
• Call to action
  • Engineers and educators must understand AI’s limitations, learn to work with it effectively, and preserve pathways for mentorship and skill development.

Developer tooling, naming, and compatibility

• Naming and package changes are sensitive; breaking packages is difficult and costly.
• JetBrains emphasizes productivity tooling and believes AI features should help developers rather than replace core learning experiences.

Anecdotes and culture

Light-hearted stories from early Conf runs (lost internet, fire/carbon-monoxide alarm mishaps) underline event growth and operational learning.

Quick-fire Kotlin-feature preferences

1. Elvis operator (chosen over alternatives in an early pairing)
2. Null-assertion operator (won a head-to-head)
3. No-safety operator (preferred over null-assertion in one comparison)
4. Data classes (preferred over no-safety operator)
5. Extensions (preferred over data classes — the final favorite)

Main speakers / sources

• Interviewee: Heidi (JetBrains representative at Kotlin Conf)
• Interviewer: host of “Kotlin Conversations” (unnamed in transcript)
• Other referenced sources: JetBrains product announcements, Google (Kotlin adoption & KMP libraries), community members (e.g., Jake Wharton)