Flutter is quickly gaining popularity as a cross-platform technology. One of the significant reasons for Flutter’s popularity is single codebase. Another argument is that it centralizes the storage of artifacts. No need to duplicate the same issue’s modifications and reasoning across platforms. These features aid in the creation of cost-effective applications.
Flutter is an open-source software development kit for user interfaces. Google created it in 2015, and a beta version was released in 2017. With the help of Flutter, you can construct a native-like mobile application for various platforms from a single codebase.
Google’s Dart programming language is used. Even though this is a new language, if you are experienced with Java, Kotlin, JS, C#, or Swift, you should have no trouble learning it. Compared to React Native, the Flutter application code is built ahead of time into native ARM code. This improves performance since there is no JSBridge between parsing and executing the code.
In addition to making code writing faster and easier, Flutter provides excellent components for giving programs a much more native feel and, as a result, a richer experience. The data below indicate Flutter’s growing popularity.
- Flutter will be used by 42 percent of software developers worldwide for cross-platform mobile apps in 2021.
- According to the Stack Overflow Developers Survey, Flutter is preferred by 13.55 percent of the community due to its libraries and tool popularity.
Now that you have some overview of Flutter and have knowledge of Flutter’s popularity. The question arises, what makes Flutter so popular? What is the use caseBenefits and Limitations of Flutter?
Flutter Usecases
Any technology can be put to use in a diverse ways. Flutter Usecases are the same way. The below are among the most common Flutter usage cases.
Apps with functions of OS-level features.
In circumstances where OS-level functionality is required in an application, it is suggested that you hire flutter developers with experience integrating OS-level functionalities in your application.
Hot Reloading
Using this functionality, any changes made to the code by the developers are reflected immediately in the app. It allows team members to experiment & try something new while reducing bug-fixing time.
Material Design apps
Product teams may realize their full design potential by unifying style, marketing, engagement, and motion under a unified set of concepts and components.
Creating MVP mobile applications
When you have a limited budget and don’t want to go straight to execution and want something solid to show investors, the Prototype of your smartphone app should be built with Flutter.
Advanced OS plugins with simple logic
Third-party plugins can extend Flutter by adding new tailored UI components or wrapping platform-specific functionalities not covered by the built-in classes (for example, multimedia, investments, memory, photography, AR, machine learning, and so on).
Applications with vast data integrations.
You can use the Flutter to have vast data integration when you need your application.
Flutter Advantages & Disadvantages
As with any technology, there are pros and drawbacks to adopting it. To help you understand Flutter better, here is a list of positives and downsides.
Advantages
- Regarding bug fixes, Flutter’s capacity to improve the app is a godsend.
- Flutter-based apps are extremely fast, providing a superb user experience.
- A single code allows for speedier quality management and validation.
- Flutter development is quick and efficient.
Disadvantage
- Apps made with Flutter are often huge.
- Browsers do not currently support flutter-based apps. This implies no web apps.
- Flutter is popular but hasn’t been around long enough to build a substantial resource base. As an outcome, your team will be required to develop a significant amount of stuff from scratch.
- Dart is a lesser-known programming language, but it is required if you want to work with Flutter.
When to use Flutter?
Flutter offers numerous advantages. These benefits are built into the scripting language and collection of development tools that enable Flutter to handle certain problems. Below are among the situations in which Flutter can be useful.
- Your concept does not necessitate full native functionality.
- You have a restricted budget and a tight delivery schedule.
- You want to write scripts faster and get them into the marketplace as soon as probable.
- You want to save development expenses by building a single codebase that supports many platforms.
- You want to make applications that run between 60 and 120 frames per second.
- You must personalize the Design with modules and perform less testing.
- Create a single piece of code that contains both front-end and back-end functionality.
- Make a strong physical and fluid design experience.
- Create native apps by combining real-time databases and cutting-edge cloud services.
- Create a minimum viable product (MVP) using responsive widgets and on-demand mobile functionality.
- Provide cutting-edge UI updates and patches for platforms that run Jellybean OS and iOS 8.
- By incorporating code magic to assist Continuous Integration, you may ensure a smooth development process (CI)
When not to use:
There are times when utilizing Flutter can be hazardous. The instances listed below are examples of when employing Flutter can be risky.
- Create native apps with no UI or functional restrictions.
- Priority should be given to native performance and usefulness over novel designs.
- Create a brand- or feature-specific application aimed at a single enterprise.
- Develop mobile apps using a well-defined model standard like the widely popular MVC, MVP, and MVVM architectures.
- Because Flutter contains several levels of abstraction, it eliminates the difficult process of error-fixing.
Popular application using Flutter
Google Ads:To deliver a portable user experience on iOS and Android, we used Dart packages, static utility classes from Flutter, and Firebase AdMob plugins.
Bloomberg: Users will benefit from streamlined, easy-to-access, tailored material, as well as automated code renewing features.
Reflectly:Shifted from React Native to Flutter and produced quality data events with the StreamBuilder module to enhance information consistency.
Wix: High-speed and agile construction of adjustable navigations and screen settings.
Conclusion
Flutter is a new SDK with numerous new applications. Of course, there is no obvious solution when selecting the technology stack for your project, but understanding what options are available will help you make a decision. In the end, it all boils down to your company’s needs. If you’re still unclear about when to utilize Flutter, even when not to, it’s best to employ a specialist developer to steer your project properly.
