haze-faq

name	haze-faq
description	Frequently asked questions about Haze. Use when asked about Haze vs Modifier.blur, cross-platform blur consistency, or which Android versions Haze supports.

Haze — FAQs

Instructions

1. What's the difference between Haze and Modifier.blur?

Modifier.blur and Haze provide different things:

• Haze: primarily background blurring — blurs content behind a composable. Required for glass-like effects (glassmorphism).
• Modifier.blur: performs foreground blurring (content blurring) — blurs the composable itself.

Haze can also do foreground blurring (omit state from hazeEffect), but background blurring is its primary strength. Haze additionally provides: tint overlays, noise texture, progressive gradients, masking, pre-built materials (Material/Cupertino/Fluent), and multi-platform support.

Use Haze when you need content-behind-blur (app bars, dialogs, cards). Use Modifier.blur for simple content-only blurring.

2. Are the blur implementations the same across different platforms?

Yes. The majority of the implementation is shared across all platforms.

The only differences are in platform-specific blur backends:

Platform	Blur Backend
Android 13+	RenderEffect.createBlurEffect()
Android 12	RenderNode + shader
Android 11-	RenderScript
Desktop / iOS	Skia shaders
Web / Wasm	Canvas filters / custom shaders

All platforms implement blur in very similar ways — only the platform classes differ.

3. What versions of Android does Haze work on?

Haze works on Android API 11+. The experience varies by API level:

API Level	Blur	Quality	Default
33+ (Android 13+)	✅	Optimal	Enabled
31-32 (Android 12)	✅	Good	Enabled
≤30 (Android 11-)	⚠️	Laggy (RenderScript)	Disabled (scrim fallback)

• Android 12 blur was previously disabled but is now enabled by default since Haze 1.6.
• Android 11- requires explicit opt-in: blurEffect { blurEnabled = true }. Expect frame-behind updates.

4. Does Haze work on Desktop/iOS/Web?

Yes. Haze supports all Compose Multiplatform targets:

Platform	Supported
Android	✅
Desktop (JVM)	✅
iOS	✅
Wasm	✅
JS/Canvas	✅

Desktop, iOS, and Web all use Skia/Skiko-backed implementations (optimal environment).

5. Can I use pre-release versions of Compose Multiplatform with Haze?

Haze is built, tested, and released against the latest stable Compose Multiplatform. Pre-release CMP versions are occasionally verified but not guaranteed. Test thoroughly if using pre-release CMP.

6. Does Haze blur work on the Android Emulator?

The RenderScript path (API ≤30, Android 11-) does not render blur on the emulator. It works on physical devices only. RenderEffect-based paths (API 31+) work on emulator images that support GPU acceleration.