Flutter - app development made easy?
The Flutter framework released by Google in December 2018 is becoming one of the most popular cross-platform frameworks among app developers.
In this blog post, we would like to share our experience of developing apps with Flutter and show you how you can effectively save costs and time to market by using Google Flutter. But let's start at the beginning:
What exactly is Google Flutter?
Flutter is an open-source UI framework developed by Google that is used to develop apps for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux and even Google Fuchsia. The underlying programming language is Dart.
Apps developed with Google Flutter are characterized in particular by their extremely short development time. The very first version of Flutter was known under the code name "Sky" and ran on the Android operating system.Flutter was first introduced at the 2015 Dart Developer Summit with the stated intention of being able to consistently render at 120 frames per second. Once written, the code written in Flutter can be applied to both Android and iOS apps. Flutter also provides a connection to Native, so you can do almost anything that can be done in Swift, Kotlin and Java.
Why is Google Flutter so popular?
One of the main USP's of Google Flutter is to develop apps with a single language and on the same platform, meaning that both iOS and Android apps (and more) can be created simultaneously in the Google Flutter framework.
The framework is also compatible with a wealth of plugins, allowing developers to extend the functionality of the apps without additional effort. This is a significant advantage. The framework can be easily integrated with Java code on Android and ObjectiveC and Swift on iOS, meaning that existing applications do not have to be completely rewritten.
One language and one platform
Flutter builds the UI using so-called widgets. These can be modules such as lists, buttons or entire appbars, which can be combined with each other in almost any way to achieve the desired result. However, in addition to the compatibility of the cross-platform framework, there are other reasons for using Google Flutter:
Theming - easily select designs across platforms
Another plus point is the robust theming that runs through the ready-made widgets. This means that colors, fonts, spacing and more can be controlled centrally to adapt the app to the desired design. With Flutter, you are not limited to one theme, but can define several and exchange them dynamically at runtime. This is particularly interesting, for example, if products from different manufacturers appear in the same app and can therefore be individualized accordingly without falling out of the overall app design.
It's all about CommuNity!
The modern Dart programming language, good documentation and comprehensively documented examples make it easy to get started. In addition, the high performance of the apps created with Flutter ensures the necessary acceptance in the app developer community, which is particularly important as the growing and, above all, active community means that answers to urgent questions can be found quickly.Flutter itself also provides a comprehensive widget library that can be used to create complex user interfaces.
Flutter apps can compete with native apps in many respects and, in our experience, are suitable for consumer products with the highest demands. The added support for the implementation of web apps allows backend and frontend development to continue to grow together - this is a positive development, especially for 2021.
Why is it worth switching?
While learning the Dart programming language might mean extra effort for some, here are some of the most compelling reasons why app development with Google Flutter might be worth it:
Flutter is cross-platform
Using the same renderers, framework and libraries, it's possible to hire dedicated cross-platform app developers and use Flutter to create a single UI that runs on both Android and iOS. To ensure that the application performs equally on both platforms, Flutter also provides widgets styled according to Cupertino (iOS) and Material Design (Android) guidelines, as well as a set of Flutter packages that provide access to some platform-specific services and APIs.
Here is an example of what a Hello World program looks like in Flutter:
Flutter's compatibility
As this framework is compatible with a wide range of plugins, developers can extend the functionality of the apps without any additional effort. The framework integrates well with Java code on Android and ObjectiveC and Swift on iOS, meaning that existing applications do not have to be completely rewritten.
Hot reload function
Flutter's hot reload feature allows you to quickly and easily experiment, create user interfaces, add features and fix bugs.
The hot reload works by injecting updated source code files into the running Dart Virtual Machine (VM). After the VM has updated classes with the new versions of fields and functions, the Flutter framework automatically rebuilds the widget tree. Hot reload makes the changes that have been made visible in less than a second. The application status is also retained, saving you the time of manually recreating the desired status.
Conclusion: Google Flutter in review
With Flutter, Google has launched another framework that is increasingly blurring the boundaries between hybrid and native apps. With Flutter, Google is relying on a new technology and thus enabling the development of apps that are in no way inferior to native versions. Flutter apps are characterized by the platform-specific interface and high performance, so it is hardly surprising that large companies such as alibaba and Google itself (AdWords app) are already relying on development with Flutter.
Flutter is also currently testing the possibilities for programming web and desktop applications. These are currently in the alpha phase.
The choice for implementation always depends on the given circumstances. As a Flutter agency, we have already been able to implement a sophisticated Google Flutter app in which we were able to reduce both costs and time to market - without compromising on quality.Flutter seems to be a more complete solution compared to React Native, as there are very few cases in Flutter where a developer needs to use a third-party library. Flutter's integrated UI library also plays a major role in this.