Key Characteristics of Flutter Application Development

Since the launch of the stable version 1.0, Flutter has started winning the hearts of developers worldwide. As an ambitious and robust mobile app development SDK by Google, Flutter enables developers to target both iOS and Android platforms at once with a single code. What makes Flutter more appealing is the fact that it can make apps compatible with Google’s upcoming Fuchsia operating system.

These days, the mobile app market is leaning toward a powerful user experience-driven app development process. Here, one of the biggest obstacles remains its division in iOS and android app development. Users of both these operating systems are scattered across the world.

Therefore, entrepreneurs simply cannot avoid any of them while targeting a huge audience. If you skip any of these OS, the brand experience may suffer badly.

Flutter app development is considered as a solution to meet this problem. Flutter app developers can build cross-platform apps by using it. This post provides a step-by-step guide to use Flutter for developing mobile apps. Hope this comprehensive guide will shed more light on Flutter app development. Let’s start with the brief introduction of this wonderful framework.

Flutter- An Introduction

Flutter is Google’s open-source UI toolkit to develop cross-platform apps using a single codebase. Developers can build seamlessly-performing native apps for iOS, Android, and web platforms with the help of Flutter.

What makes Flutter different from other frameworks is the fact that it does not use JavaScript. Google’s Flutter platform keeps a single codebase for developing various apps.

UI performance, source code maturities, security tests, and functionalities are some of the challenges that developers have to face while developing the same app for different platforms.

Flutter app development can resolve these issues with ease. Flutter apps are written in Dart, Google’s object-oriented programming language. Dart was selected by keeping four criteria in mind- Developer productivity, Object orientation, faster allocation, and high performance.

Flutter is an easy-to-use and extremely powerful language for fresh and experienced app developers alike. This language can increase their productivity exponentially and the Flutter app developers can provide a powerful UI experience thanks to Flutter widgets.

Before moving to the top benefits and key characteristics of this excellent app development platform, let’s have some interesting facts and figures.

Quick Stats for Flutter App Development

• As per Google Trends, Flutter is the second most leading programming language in 2020 followed by React Native to develop customized cross-platform mobile apps

• Google, GROUPON, eBay, and Alibaba Group have chosen Flutter to make robust apps in a short time

• Flutter is the third most loved frameworks after .Net Core and Torch as per a Stackoverflow survey

• Flutter is one of the most robust cross-platform app development frameworks and the most popular platform for developing Android and iOS since its launch in May 2017

But, which features make Flutter the most popular framework in the short time after its release in the year 2017? Let’s make a list of key features or characteristics of Flutter that have given an edge to Flutter over peers.

Top Characteristics of Flutter as a Cross-platform App Development Framework

Open-source Platform

Flutter is an open-source platform developed and backed by Google. You can transform your creative app idea into a perfect solution with the assistance of a reliable Flutter app development company in a cost-effective way.

Built-in material design (for Android apps), rich motion APIs and Cupertino Widgets (for iOS apps) are useful to make elegant and user-friendly apps. What’s more, Flutter developers can freely explore various design options while building customized apps using Flutter.

Hot Reload

This feature gives an edge to Flutter from other peers. It enables developers to experiment quickly and easily. They can build a user-friendly UI, add necessary features in the app, and debug apps through Hot Reload because it reflects the changes instantly. It also reflects updates in the ongoing development phase of the app, and app developers can accomplish the project on time.

Also Read- All You Need to Know about the Latest Flutter 1.12 Version

Rich Widgets

The core idea of the Flutter platform is based on widgets. Developers can make an elegant and expressive UI by combining different widgets in line with the client’s business model. The framework has rich widgets for structural elements, stylistic elements, and the like. Flutter app developers can also create custom widgets and remain assured of the native performance of the application.

Widgets play a critical role in not only design but also the functionality of the cross-platform app. The mobile app development company can enable entrepreneurs to come up with a seamlessly-performing app with smooth scrolling and navigation.

Single Code Base

When it comes to developing an app for both android OS and iOS, Flutter is an ideal choice because it needs a single code base for developing cross-platform apps with native-like experience. The mobile app development company can build a Flutter app that can perform like a native app in features, UX, and functionality.

Google Firebase Support

The Flutter framework enables developers to make the most of Google’s firebase support as a backend. Developers can use this support for developing scalable apps.

How about going through the top-notch benefits of Flutter app development from the perspectives of developers and entrepreneurs?

Key Benefits of using Flutter for Developing Mobile Apps

For Developers

Rapid App Development

Excellent and innovative features including Hot Reload and a single codebase for Android and iOS platforms can enable developers to build a feature-rich Flutter app in a short time. In-built features of Flutter can be readily integrated with both Android and iOS to give a native-like performance to the app while saving valuable time for developers.

Single Codebase for Both Platforms

Be it an Android app or iOS app, Flutter facilitates developers to build a robust enterprise-grade app using a single code base. It saves the developer’s time on code management because developers need not write separate code for both the platforms.

Expressive Interfaces

An appealing and user-friendly UI (User Interface) can attract a lot of people toward an app. Flutter, with separate widgets for Material Design and Cupertino as well as rich motion APIs and simple natural scrolling, assist developers to come up with expressive interfaces with a completely customizable widget. Developers can also re-use code if necessary in the future.

Faster Debug

The ‘Hot Reload’ feature helps developers code faster as compared to native app development. This feature also enables developers to test code faster and check the changes in the app immediately while building an awesome app. Testing and debugging of an app is faster with the Hot Reload feature.

Easy Learning Curve

Whether developers have skills in Swift or Java, they can easily learn Flutter and build apps from scratch. Flutter is based on Dart, an object-oriented programming language, which is easy to learn for developers. All developers need to start setup and build the first Flutter app by registering on the official site of Flutter- Flutter.dev.

Community Support

This is one of the biggest benefits of Flutter. A thriving community of active developers can help developers resolve their issues quickly thereby saving their time and efforts. What’s more, Google supports and maintains Flutter, which makes the platform highly reliable. It is easy to discuss new features and clear doubts on Flutter as the community keeps on arranging meetups and other events worldwide.

Worldwide, many developers are ready to embrace Flutter app development because of these benefits. Flutter can increase their productivity and ensure the great performance of the app with a shorter development cycle.

Flutter App development For Entrepreneurs

Rapid App Development

If entrepreneurs or startup owners are in a hurry, they can get customized apps in a relatively short time using Flutter. In other words, Flutter can reduce the TTM (Time to Market) significantly and entrepreneurs can have an edge over peers who are yet to come up with a customized app. The Flutter platform needs only one codebase for both Android and iOS platforms which saves a lot of time, effort, and money.

Cost-saving

As an entrepreneur, you prefer a cross-platform app development platform to build an enterprise app that works well across all known platforms. You can simply contact a mobile app development company to hire a team of Flutter developers to build an app for Android and iOS. In a way, Flutter app development saves a lot of bucks in development costs.

Also Read : How Flutter is Setting Trends in Mobile Application Development

Easy App Management

Startups and SMEs always find it difficult to manage and maintain their existing mobile apps. Now, Flutter has everything available in widgets. It makes the customization and moderation of apps easy in line with changing requirements.

Entrepreneurs need to hire Flutter developers to manage or update their apps. But, there is no need to hire more developers for modification or customization of the app.

Better Team Management

Enterprise application development is a complex process that involves many developers or programmers. Thankfully, Flutter app development needs a small team consisting of a developer and a project manager with a QA analyst.

Such a small team is easy to handle and as an entrepreneur, you need not pay attention to every member’s tasks because the single code can make an app for Android and iOS alike.

Altogether, it is fair to mention that the Flutter app development process is all set to provide a rich user experience similar to that of native apps. All you need to hire certified developers from a reputed mobile app development company to get the app that is compatible with Android, iOS, and even the upcoming Fuchsia platform.

The Hummingbird project is also an ambitious project that will allow Flutter app developers to use the same code for mobile, desktop, and browser-based app.

The project aims at providing a seamless experience to developers when they make a single app for different platforms. Developers can also find the entire project on GitHub as the Hummingbird project is an open-source project.

Flutter App Development Cost

Cross-platform app development cost is less as compared to native app development, and Flutter app development is no exception! Though it is difficult to give a standard price of Flutter-based app development, we can give a range of prices by considering the factors including number of features and app complexity. The average cost of the app development can be around $10000 to $50000. Here, the hourly cost of developers matters in determining the cost.

Concluding Lines

Flutter app development enables companies to get versatile solutions while resolving many common issues. Startups and SMEs can also tap into opportunities with customized and feature-rich apps that can easily run on Apple and Android devices.

On one hand, small companies count on Flutter for saving big on development time and cost, and on the other hand, large companies prefer Flutter because it can enable them to get rid of a decentralized team of developers. There is no exaggeration in mentioning that Flutter can be considered as a future of mobile app development.