Why we chose Flutter for Mobile App Development?

On the technology front, my company believes and strives to be the ‘flag bearers of latest technologies’. We persistently try to adopt promising technologies and hence, serve our customers better. Over the last few years, the emergence of new cross-platform technologies has been happening at a rapid pace. After a lot of research and comparison, last year we zeroed in on React Native (RN) for its performance and are doing quite good with it. 

But, the cross-platform war is not over yet. The most recent entrant in the space is Flutter. The very fact that it comes from Google, the custodians of Android, makes it an indispensable force.

 Introducing Flutter for your applications 

Initially, as I heard about Flutter, what captivated my attention was its pedigree. I was comfortable with RN and took Flutter as just another cross-platform technology with cosmetic improvements over its predecessors. But as I started using it, I found it to be different and better. The more I delved into Flutter, the more interesting it seemed to me. 

Flutter is a promising technology by Google for quick app development. It is an open-source, cross-platform framework used to build applications faster on iOS and Android. A notable factor is that it uses a compiled programming language named Dart, which compiles ahead of time into the native code for multiple platforms. Unlike RN or other mobile Software Developer’s Kit (SDK), Flutter provides reactive-style views without using a JavaScript bridge. 

While we are talking about Flutter, it just hit 25k stars on GitHub! So, what makes Flutter so revolutionary?

 Why Flutter for mobile app development?

Custom Design and Navigation

The modern API with customizable features in Flutter is a dream come true. It is perfect for navigation needs and does its own rendering using Skia. For us, it means that the User Interface (UI) and navigation concepts only needs to be written once and then shared across multiple platforms. When it comes to widgets, Flutter has high customizable features and gives the widgets the native look and feel that users prefer. 

Faster development cycle

Flutter is blazing fast! Yes, it takes 25 seconds for full compilation in Flutter. Furthermore, the hot reload option in Flutter allows incremental compilation. If there are changes required, you can correct those changes as the application is running and it will be reflected instantly. There won’t be any interruptions that disrupt the smooth functioning of applications.

Ease of code sharing

Flutter stays true to the word of doing more with less code. Once the code is written in Flutter, almost 95% of it can be used over and again. Unlike other platforms, Flutter has its own widget library. Hence, we do not have to get into the nitty-gritties of implementation on iOS or Android.

Reduced time for Quality Assurance

Once the Flutter app is tested and quality assured on iOS, then it will function smoothly on Android as well. This means that the tests conducted on iOS will be valid for Android too. This significantly reduces the dedicated time spent on testing and quality assurance of Flutter applications. 

Enhanced performance with Dart

The use of Dart in Flutter eliminates the need for a JavaScript bridge and enhances performance. The tree shaking compiler in Dart only includes codes required in the application and speeds up the development cycle. Further, the allocation model in Dart helps to minimize poor quality UI and stutter. In total, Dart enables Flutter to develop robust and scalable mobile apps rapidly.  

Our Experience with Flutter 

Flutter is not just a marginally improved technology, instead, it is a total overhaul. It's fundamentally different from React native in many ways. React native is good but Flutter is not lagging behind. As seen in the previous section, it is an easily scalable framework with customizable features.

As we started using Flutter more, our development processes became faster and easier. This has gained us some major competitive advantages compared to using other technologies. Our clients have also approved of our choice to go with Flutter. Our dedicated mobile app development team understood the potential of this emerging technology and explored it skilfully for many leading projects. And the results? Happy customers. After the initial reservations, I can confidently say that the flutter bug has bitten me and my company for good. 

Read more about our Flutter expertise and app development strategy here.