Nowadays, there exists a mobile app for just about anything. Because of the rising popularity of smartphones, more and more companies are making investments in the creation of mobile applications to better connect with their target markets. In essence, mobile applications give a wide range of benefits and desirable features that websites can’t provide.
Businesses and startups frequently struggle with the decision of whether to release their product on iOS or Android initially. How about the ease with which a single piece of code may be used to develop an app for both systems? Technologies that are cross-platform, like Flutter, make this possible. We’ll provide you with additional information about its remarkable qualities in this article.
What is Flutter?
Flutter is an open-source project that was produced by Google as a Software Development Kit (SDK). Dart, the main programming language developed by Google, served as the foundation for Flutter. Dart was initially intended for apps that placed high importance on outstanding design and user experience (UX).
It makes it possible to create cross-platform software for Linux, Windows, Android, and iOS using a single code base for either web, mobile, or desktop apps. From a business perspective, this is incredibly beneficial because you only need to create one code, and only one team of specialists is needed, making the entire process more affordable due to the fact that developing a software application takes less time. If you want to learn more, discover the differences between Mobile App vs Mobile Web.
Our team of tech hustlers’ top choice for developing mobile apps in 2023 will still be Flutter, simply because it’s one of the greatest cross-platform app development tools available, that will guarantee a safe, supported, and reliable existence for all the software solutions built with it.
What Puts Flutter in the Spotlight?
Flutter is used by well-known brands like Airbnb, Uber, Alibaba, eBay, BMW, and obviously Google, in their mobile apps. Let’s examine the primary perks and advantages that drive these renowned brands to select Flutter over competing technologies.
a. Single codebase
The creation of mobile apps is effectively accelerated by Flutter’s streamlined features and functionalities. One of them is using a single codebase for all platforms. It enables programmers to write code just once for the Android and iOS platforms.
Both business owners and developers will find this functionality useful. Your app will be developed in significantly less time, which will shorten the time it takes to market. A single codebase offers the following additional advantages:
- The quantity of testing & maintenance required for your software application is substantially reduced
- Because development costs are lower, business productivity & efficiency are increased
As you can see, one of the key reasons why Flutter has emerged as the preferred solution for both developers and company owners is the single codebase.
b. The ideal MVP option
Firms of various sizes and scales adopt Flutter, but startups have one minor advantage: Flutter can be especially helpful for businesses with little resources because, more frequently than not, they fail and cannot afford to jump in headlong. In order to save money, time, and resources while still receiving some real results from their idea, it’s better to start with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product). Discover everything you need to know about MVP in our PoC vs. Prototype vs. MVP article.
Creating an MVP can provide you with important insights regarding the potential market impact of the finished product. Even with just the first iteration of your new digital product, you may gather customer feedback, consider the new features they want, create a more thorough development strategy, and establish a clientele.
You might be using MVPs to test your products, services, ideas, or new technologies, but what does Flutter have to do with this?
Basically, the best & most effective tool for creating your MVP is Flutter. Here are a few explanations:
- The costs of development are low, as previously noted
- Shorter amount of time to market your product
- All the resources you require for the creation of your app are in one location. In addition, Flutter makes it exceedingly simple to use well-known cloud platforms like Firebase and AWS that provide a wealth of functionalities like authentication, analytics, hosting, crash reporting, cloud functions, cloud storage, and more.
You can stop worrying about limited resources & time because thanks to Flutter these are no longer issue to prevent you from developing an app for your business.
c. Easy customization
Apps created using Flutter are incredibly versatile when it comes to making modifications or alterations because of the single codebase. Both iOS and Android users may immediately view all the upgrades.
In addition, it is possible to address any code-related issues immediately. This essentially lowers maintenance expenses, freeing up cash for business owners to invest in other areas of their enterprise.
d. Native-like performance
The performance of Flutter is one of its key benefits. Flutter applications are compiled into native code, and this substantially accelerates their performance. Additionally, the graphics engine aims to operate at 60 frames per second, and Flutter can sustain up to 120 fps if the device supports it. Additionally, developers have tools at their disposal for identifying any performance blips.
e. The best widgets
You may access a massive collection of widgets designed for various industries with Flutter. Your app will look better and draw in more users if you use the proper widgets. Almost any feature is available as a widget, including navigation, scrolling, typefaces, and effects, to mention a few. Not to forget that these widgets are simple to use on a variety of platforms and designs. What more is there to ask for?
f. A Flutter community
Both Google, the company that created Flutter, and the developer community give it a lot of support. The fact that a big company like Google supports this technology ensures that it won’t become obsolete anytime soon. As was already said, Google uses Flutter in many of its products (such as Google Ads or Google Fuchsia) and will continue to invest in and develop it for a very long time. So it’s not just our bet on Flutter in 2023, it’s also Google’s bet on their own technology that helped developers worldwide.
The Flutter community is expanding and has become very active, hosting frequent in-person and online get-togethers and events. The community’s support is particularly noteworthy; when needed, your IT team can benefit from knowledge-sharing from the committed developers who have mastered Flutter’s subtleties.
g. Friendly with animations
Strong animation support provided by Flutter makes it much easier to create complex animated features. Although it will still take some time, Flutter makes it far simpler than native tools to add animations to your software solution. So, if the core concept of your app is animation, you should absolutely think about creating it with Flutter.
h. It’s safe to use
Security should be a top priority for any app from the beginning. You and your technical team should be in charge of it during the entire development process and afterward. We have some fantastic news for you if you decide to use Flutter to develop future mobile applications. This program finds possible weak spots and alerts you well in advance of any harm being done.
Since Google is its “founding father,” you can be sure that Flutter will protect your app in accordance with the highest standards.
i. Amazing user experience (UX)
We already know that Flutter has a huge selection of widgets that the apps can use. Flutter apps are unable to interact with the native parts of the devices as a result. This eliminates in-app incompatibility, giving an amazing user experience (UX) and a smoother app performance.
What else, other than your app’s smooth user experience, can help you build a devoted customer base? You might think that there’s no chance of releasing an app concept before your rivals. Keep in mind that Flutter can support you in both situations.
How does Flutter lower the cost of development?
It is typically expensive to design & implement different mobile apps for iOS & Android. Because you’ll have to work within both environments, it’s essential to form 2 development teams with specialists for every operating system. As a cross-platform technology, Flutter considerably lowers this cost.
Typically, it takes three experts (each utilizing a separate technology) to build a product across a range of platforms. Because Flutter allows you to effectively launch a product on several platforms using the same code, you may cut costs for one developer. A single code base also significantly lowers project management expenses (by 20–25%), and owing to Flutter, development costs can be cut by up to 50%. In conclusion, startups & small businesses should take into account Flutter because it offers significant cost reductions.
Flutter for enterprises & startups
There is a widespread misconception that only tiny apps can benefit from cross-platform development. Flutter, on the other hand, is here to contradict that. Flutter has evolved to be appropriate for every kind of application because of its adaptable features and continuous development.
A huge software system platform utilized in corporate settings is essentially what an enterprise app is, for businesses, governments, and more. Flutter is also the best choice when it comes to building apps for startups who are usually constrained by money and time. It’s that breath of fresh air that startups needed for a long time and it helped us get creative with the apps by spending less time developing them.
In addition to the characteristics mentioned above, Flutter offers excellent efficiency, a fantastic user experience, and top security in a single box. Simply put, Flutter has everything needed to produce an excellent enterprise app. This solution is unquestionably the best option for apps of any size and type because it’s powered by a tech giant and is already being used by other huge brands like BMW or eBay.
What ensures the future of Flutter App Development?
Google updates Flutter frequently, always adding more features, enhancing functionality, and enhancing efficiency. Flutter 3 was released in May 2022. In September, we were able to use version 3.3.8, then in November and December, updates brought us versions 3.3.9 and 3.3.10.
Flutter 3 offers strong support for Linux & macOS apps, in addition to the previous versions’ support for iOS, Android, Windows & Web. From a single codebase, you can now develop apps for six platforms. Because it is here to stay, this fact alone makes the future of Flutter extremely foreseeable.
With more than 500,000 apps now created using Flutter, this most recent version with its additional capabilities will eventually push that number up by another 500,000.
Additionally, updated performance and efficiency features are included in Flutter 3. Also the fact that Dart, the Google property that fuels Flutter, keeps up with its routine updates and a Dart 3 version is expected this year as well.
Other significant updates that might appear a little too technical, yet we cannot ignore them:
- More reliable Firebase integration The fundamental component of the Firebase service is now incorporating the source code and documentation. As a result, developers will be able to create apps with a wider range of features and functions and a more potent backend service
- Updates have also been made to Firebase’s real-time crash reporting service, Crashlytics. Now that failures can be tracked in real-time, your IT team can improve the stability & security of your application
- A Casual Games Toolkit is included with Flutter 3 to assist you in launching game production.
Not only is Flutter supported and improved by Google, but also by the big Flutter developer community. Tech nerds and Flutter developers can all contribute to the development of this SDK because it’s open-source. You can accomplish this in a variety of ways, including by adding new code or documentation, creating books & guides, conducting events, training sessions, user groups, etc.
Conclusions
All types of sectors, including e-commerce, retail, finance, and fintech, use Flutter to create apps. Google continues to invest in and promote Flutter, whose popularity has recently skyrocketed and is not likely to decline any time soon.
To engage with your customers, you need more than just an app created for your company. Offering more than that will assure that customers can access your services more quickly and easily. To do this, your app must function flawlessly and live up to all user expectations in every way, including having an appealing design, seamless flows, an intuitive user interface (UI), an outstanding user experience (UX), easy-to-manage, and adjustable settings. Read more about UI, UX, and Their Differences.
At HyperSense, we keep up with the latest technological developments, and one thing about Flutter’s future is certain. We also continuously expand our Flutter development team, so if you are a Flutter developer, send us a message and let’s find a way to work together.
If you have any questions about our Flutter programming services or would want to talk about a potential app concept that we can build together, contact us and let’s make it happen. We will be happy to help you along the way as you improve your business through digitalization.
