Flutter app development is winning the market

Flutter is an open source app development platform, which has tools to develop both Android and iOS apps. Since its introduction in 2018, Flutter has gone through several changes, adapting itself to the market needs and upgrading at every stage.  It has been instrumental in cross-platform app development and has proved a boon for developers with time and money constraints. App development is generally a costly affair and by addressing the core of the issue, Flutter has raised to the top of being one of the most preferred app development frameworks.

In April 2020, Flutter has been used by 500,000 developers every month and 2 million users have used it since 2018. Since it is a free source, it becomes the top preferred for cross-platform development. This is significant because most of the apps today are cross-platform to ensure reaching a wide range of audience. This streamlining of process is not the only advantage of Flutter.

Why Flutter app developers have an upper hand

Here are some ways in which Flutter has made app development cost effective and quicker:

Cross platform development

Developers can use single code across platforms and avoid working on them more than once. This is a time-saving option where it is a general process for iOS and Android. Although cross-development platform is not new, Flutter makes the process easier and more feasible.

For instance, fixing bugs relatively take longer in other platforms than Flutter. They have widgets ready to be customized and used.

Hot reload

This feature allows to witness changes in real time. Fixing bugs, testing new features and experiment with them are made easier and quicker with this. Thus, building and releasing the apps are done faster and updates are also released faster.

Any other framework would take at least a few minutes to witness the changes made. Real time results change the game completely. This also means that the developers and designers work closely and make improvements then and there.

Less code, more results

Dart is the programming language used in Flutter. Dart allows the same code to be used for both iOS and Android. This means less code and less time spent on building the features. It is an object-oriented language and avoids the requirement of JavaScript bridge to work.

The amount of code is directly related to the cost as well. The development workflow is improved with Dart and with hot reload refreshing the UI then and there, it does not require a new build. This saves both cost and time.

MVP development

For start-ups, convincing investors about their product is a journey in itself. MVPs are a great way to pitch the products and attract investors. To build them, it usually takes time and may cost an arm and a leg without a cross-platform framework.

Flutter lets you create an MVP that works on all platforms with just one code, thereby saving both time and money. Besides, Flutter can also be used to develop this MVP into a full product since the code is already written in Flutter.

Google trends reports a steady increase in the usage of Flutter all across the US from April 2019 to July 2020. Flutter and Dart go hand-in-hand. The only drawback is that Dart is a relatively new language, and some developers might have to be trained in Dart specifically to use Flutter. However, it is not a difficult task.

The cost of Flutter may depend on various factors including the complexity of the app, design, features, updates, bug fixes, etc., the overall cost has proven to be lesser than other platforms.

To have an estimate of how much your app would cost, reach out to our experts at Rootquotient for guidance and advice.

The closest competitor to Flutter is React Native. However, the custom widgets offered by Flutter are missing and also it is not as smoothly navigating as Flutter. It is also not preferred for applications that require high animation like games.

Flutter and the future

Flutter is hailed as the future of app development. Since many developers are now learning Dart to use the platform, the future seems brighter with many resources already trained in using Flutter. The future of Flutter is predicted to be brighter than ever. Fuchsia is to enter the smartphone market by 2023, with even a chance to replace Android in the next decade. With the introduction of new technology, the expectations on scalability, flexibility and all-encompassing features increase.

When an app that covers all the aspects in the current technology has to transition to Fuchsia, it will be smooth and easy. Thus, an app using Flutter now will make it easier to move on to Fuchsia. A good knowledge of Flutter will also allow developers to explore as soon as Fuchsia arrives in the market. Adapting to a new language would not be necessary and developers need not start from the scratch.

In conclusion, among the current platforms, Flutter wins by a mile and the future guarantees expansion of horizon using Flutter.