At 20fifty, we use Flutter as one of the tools of our trade. We work to solve problems and build what matters. Accordingly, that is why we focus on intelligent innovation that’s scalable and solution-focused. One of the tools of our trade is Flutter.
Flutter is an open source framework by Google for building beautiful, natively compiled, multi-platform applications from a single codebase. Flutter transforms the app development process, enabling our team to build, test, and deploy beautiful mobile, web, desktop, and embedded apps from a single codebase. It is a cross-platform framework designed to allow developers/companies to use a single codebase and deploy to multiple platforms.
Why we choose Flutter At the time of writing this, there is no other reliable framework capable of such an expansive deployment capability. Likewise, the closest we have found is React-Native, which supports Android and iOS with Web being made possible by an external group of developers. How Flutter works Flutter is not simply a framework – it is a complete solution for building applications. The SDK provides everything a developer needs to build a quality, performant user interface and includes pre-built widgets for Material Design (Android) and Cupertino (iOS). You build for both platforms with a single codebase, and build them using the native UI elements too. This gives your users a more familiar user experience without your team needing to maintain 2 separate codebases.What about Dart? Flutter is the framework, but Dart is the actual programming language behind it. Dart is also an open-sourced product being developed by Google. Within its core, there is also a high-speed C++ compiler. The combination enables highly performant native experiences at 60 or even 120fps. Unlike React-Native, Flutter and Dart make use of the Skia C++ graphics engine that minimises interactions with the host operating system and removes the need for any form of bridge.
The benefits of Flutter We’re all about making informed decisions at 20fifty, so here are some benefits of using Flutter for your development environment:
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Your budget: As a single framework in a single language that supports multiple platforms, it is a deeply cost-effective solution for your development environment
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Your team: Normally, you would need 2 or 3 teams for an application, 1 for Android, another for iOS, and a 3rd for Web, if that was part of your product availability.
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Your time: Significantly, your development time can be exponentially faster. This is extremely valuable for startups or MVP development of a new product.
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Your performance: Flutter aims to achieve true, native-like performance, and right out of the box, it aims to achieve 60fps. It can reach up to 120fps on supporting devices. It does not make use of any bridges as with other cross-platform frameworks. This is how it manages to achieve such high performance levels.
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Your daily development: This benefit is for the developers, and it’s called Hot Reload. When developing, Flutter has a listener running that listens for code changes, allowing near-instant updates to the currently connected device. This means you won’t lose your place within the application when the compiler recompiles the updated code. You can simply return to your development device and carry on from where you left off.
Things to consider This wouldn’t be a true review without us sharing some of the downsides of adopting Flutter for your development environment. Let’s face it – everything has a downside. Yes, even that shiny new car comes with a massive monthly payment. Let’s take you through some of the things you should consider before adopting it for your development environment:
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Size: One of the biggest disadvantagesright now would be size. The core of the framework itself adds about 5MB to an application. This means it could be quite tricky to use Flutter for developing InstantApps and similar applications or tools.
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Age: Flutter is still on the younger side of the spectrum, when compared to its counterparts. While it has quickly matured over a short period of time and, in some ways, overshadowed what’s currently available, there will be more effective changes coming with each release. Moreover, a quick review of the Flutter showcase will show you just how quickly Flutter is taking over market share, with some of the world’s biggest businesses reaping the benefits of Flutter development.
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Finding developers: As a newer framework, it may be difficult to find developers who are proficient in Flutter. Finding the right developer, with the right set of skills, is not always an easy journey.
If you love Flutter too, or you’re keen to learn while we build what matters, get in touch.