Flutter has been available for about four years, and we routinely recommend it to clients of SnapStack Solutions. This is due to several advantages, including quick app creation and simultaneous iOS and Android app upgrades. Flutter has seen various updates over the years, and we thought now was a good moment to see if it\’s still a viable programming language for mobile app development in 2022.
Hello, my name is Jordan, and I\’m going to guide you over the primary benefits and drawbacks of Flutter, as well as our honest opinions on which types of mobile products it\’s most suited for. A lot depends on your aims and the business objectives of your project. Flutter is a fantastic framework for some things, but it does have limitations, as do other cross-platform technologies.
Simply put, Flutter can be used for almost any project. Here are a couple of such examples:
While cross-platform solutions such as React Native, Ionic, and Xamarin have swept the mobile market in recent years, this does not mean that native app development is doomed. There are still numerous advantages to writing code specifically for Android and iOS apps. Because native apps are created for a single platform and compiled using the platform\’s core programming language and APIs, they are extremely fast and responsive.
1. Updates to Android and iOS apps at the same time
Because both platforms use the same codebase, you may deploy app upgrades at the same time. When there are different projects for each platform, this is difficult to achieve. Synchronization is problematic due to different developer availability or lengthier implementation on one platform.
Because we create applications for both platforms at the same time with Flutter and other cross-platform tools, this difficulty is eliminated. Of course, it\’s important to note that both iOS and Android apps must pass pre-release evaluations.
2. Rapid App Development
Because Flutter is a cross-platform solution, it can be used on both Android and iOS. This speeds up the app creation process. Of course, it won\’t be reduced in half, but it\’s safe to assume that writing a single codebase for both platforms will take at least half as long as doing so individually. We wrote a blog post about it a while back. I and other of our developers believe that building Flutter apps are easier than writing native apps.
3. When it comes to advanced user interfaces, it\’s a winner.
Flutter uses an internal graphics engine called Skia to generate all portions of the UI, which is also utilized by Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Sublime Text 3. Flutter behaves differently than most other mobile development frameworks thanks to this speedy and well-optimized piece of software.
Flutter uses an internal graphics engine called Skia to generate all portions of the UI, which is also utilized by Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Sublime Text 3. Flutter behaves differently than most other mobile development frameworks thanks to this speedy and well-optimized piece of software.
4. One UI Design
Flutter is probably not the greatest solution if you want your mobile application to seem native on both iOS and Android. This will be detailed in the cons section, but for now, let\’s focus on the benefits.
You\’ll just need one UI design developed by designers if you have one codebase for both platforms. The cross-platform app usually follows Material Design principles, with just minor platform adaptations (which Flutter normally takes care of) or makes the entire UI look bespoke, with elements based on the finest solutions from iOS and Android.
5. Device Features Access
Access to native functionality is one of the key reasons why some developers are hesitant to use cross-platform solutions. They might have trouble using smartphone features like the microphone, camera, and geolocation in ways that a native app can. However, you may use features in Flutter as well, though it is a little more difficult.
6. Stable Performance with Compiled Code
NativeScript or Ionic Flutter code is compiled when the mobile application is produced for distribution, unlike ReactNative. It will not use the JavaScript engine to connect with native components, nor will it require the use of a web view to display its content.
1. Platform Restrictions
The nature of Flutter\’s UI rendering introduces some constraints. For example, if some functionalities are built into the UI on native platforms, the Flutter team will have to rebuild them. For example, there are video player implementations in Flutter, but they differ from the standard one in appearance (especially on iOS).
2. Platform-specific Look and Feel
As discussed in the advantages section, if you want your app to match the Apple Design System on iPhones and Material Design on Android devices, you should create two separate apps.
Of course, you can verify which platform your app is running on and render various components on the screen in Flutter. When we want to display Dialogs/Alerts that seem like the system\’s native ones, we use this. However, developing a single application in this manner will take longer than writing two distinct apps. Flutter is a cross-platform framework, after all.
3. Implementation of New System Features
All new iOS and Android features are introduced later in Flutter than in their native SDKs. Foldable displays and dark system mode are also available in Flutter now, however they were added after their SDK counterparts. However, we can\’t normally add new system features from day one in native programming because we have to maintain system compatibility.
Flutter has several advantages if you want to develop cross-platform apps. To mention a few benefits, it allows for faster deployment, simultaneous app upgrades, a unified codebase for both iOS and Android, and increased efficiency. Perhaps this is why it is becoming increasingly popular among cross-platform frameworks. There are already a lot of major Flutter apps out there, produced by big brands.
Do you want to learn more about our work in a variety of frameworks? Why not send us an email at contact@snapstack.cz or contact us through social media?
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