Flutter is an open-source mobile app development framework that Google introduced to the world in October 2018. Since then, it has grown tremendously and currently stands as one of the top three cross-platform mobile app development SDKs according to StackOverflow’s Developer survey for Q4 2018. With so much hype around Flutter, there are plenty of blog posts and articles comparing Flutter vs React Native vs NativeScript vs Xamarin. But what exactly makes Flutter a better choice than other cross-platform ? Let’s find out.
Flutter Is Very Fast to Develop
Modern web app development frameworks such as React, Vue, and Angular are notorious for their long development cycles. This is because the first step is to identify the architecture for the app. After that, you need to build the custom components, write the code for routing as well as implement the state management feature. However, Flutter skips all that and offers a ready-made architecture for building apps. You can simply start by importing ready-made UI elements and writing the logic for your app. Flutter has a rich set of ready-made widgets that are customizable and you can easily mix them to create the desired look and feel for your app.
Flutter Has High-Quality Out-of-the-box UI Elements
Unlike NativeScript or React Native, where you have to write the UI code from scratch, Flutter comes with a wide range of ready-made UI elements that are high-quality and perform well. With Flutter, there is no need to write the layout code as that is done by the Flutter framework. All you have to do is write the code for your app’s functionality and Flutter takes care of the rest. In other words, Flutter lets you declutter your code and focus on the important stuff. You can also create your own custom widgets if you want to feature a unique look and feel for your app. And yes, you can also create custom layouts if necessary.
Flutter Is Based on Dart
Dart was formerly known as an experimental project by Google. However, in 2016, Google turned it into a fully-fledged programming language. Today, Dart is one of the top programming languages in the world. Dart is a simple, expressive, and structured language. This makes it easy to learn and understand. Moreover, it comes with great features that make it easier to write cross-platform code. Because Flutter uses Dart as the programming language, it is easier to build and maintain the app. You can reuse the existing knowledge of Dart to write high-quality apps for iOS and Android. Moreover, it is easier to collaborate with other developers as they too can use their existing knowledge to write the code for your app.
Flutter Apps are Highly Responsive
When it comes to performance, responsiveness is one of the most important parameters developers look for. A sluggish app can significantly hurt the business and there is a chance that the users will simply uninstall it. Flutter uses a reactive framework that is based on modern architecture. Thus, it is able to respond to user actions in a jiffy. By default, Flutter displays the loading spinner while the app loads new data. When the data is ready, the spinner disappears and the app shows the data without interrupting the user experience. Thus, a high-quality app has the ability to load new data without interrupting the current user flow. Flutter achieves this by displaying the loading spinner during the data-loading process.
Flutter Supports Hot Reloading and Offline Development
Hot reloading allows you to update the app’s code and instantly see the changes in the app. In other words, you don’t have to manually restart the app every time you update the code. This feature allows you to test your app faster and fix bugs faster as well. Hot reloading works best for apps that use Dart, as it is the native language of Flutter. You can also use other programming languages, but you won’t get the same level of functionality. Offline development allows you to run your app even when the device is not connected to the internet. Flutter supports offline development by letting the user know that there is no internet connectivity and that the app is working offline.
Flutter Supports Animations and Effects
Flutter comes with a rich and powerful animation library that lets you create a wide range of animations and transitions. Furthermore, there is a large community of developers working on enriching this library. Thus, there are plenty of ready-made animations and transitions that you can use in your app. Moreover, Flutter allows the developer to write custom animations if necessary.
Conclusion
The competition between frameworks is heating up. Newer frameworks are coming up with new features and improvements each day. Flutter is one of the new kids on the block. However, it is already proving to be a worthy competitor by offering better features than the competition. If you are looking for a cross-platform mobile app development framework, Flutter is the way to go. It is simple, easy to understand, and follow. It lets you focus on building a standout app without worrying about which platform to target and which technological stack to use. It is designed keeping in mind the needs of modern app developers. It is open-source, which means that anyone can access its code and learn from it. It is backed by Google, which means that it has a huge community of active developers working on it.
