Everything you need to know about the New Styles API in Jetpack Compose

Google I/O 2026 introduced a new Styles API in Jetpack Compose, available from version 1.11.0-alpha06. Unlike modifiers (which are additive), styles are overwritable — the last declared style wins. The API introduces three core concepts: Style, StyleScope, and StyleState. StyleState acts as a bridge between interaction sources and visual styling, enabling state-based appearance changes (pressed, hovered, selected, etc.). The Styles API is designed for visual/styling concerns only — behaviors like gestures and click handling still belong in modifiers. A key performance benefit is that style animations skip the composition phase, running only in draw and layout phases. Current limitations include no support for infinite animations, custom shapes, shape animations, or View system theme interoperability. Best practices include exposing style parameters in custom components, using styles for visuals and modifiers for behaviors, and using rememberUpdatedStyleState for dynamic state management.