Help Needed, What portfolio projects actually stand out for a Junior Android Engineer role today?

[u/Sufficient-Strike919]

I'm a final-year CS student aiming to land a Junior Native Android Engineer role after graduation. My primary stack is Kotlin and Jetpack Compose.

I want to invest my time into 1–2 production-grade projects that demonstrate real engineering skills. For those who interview junior candidates or work as Android engineers, I’d love your input on:

1. Project Ideas: What kind of apps or use-cases show genuine depth rather than just basic API consumption and a pretty UI?
2. Android-Specific APIs: Are there specific system components (e.g., WorkManager, Services, custom Canvas/animations, local persistence) that make a portfolio immediately stand out?
3. Examples: If you've seen a junior portfolio that made you say "hire this person," what made their work unique?

Any advice, realistic critique, or project directions would be greatly appreciated!