Flutter Application Development: Things You Must Know

by Rahim Makhani | Guest Contributor | BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY

Mobile app development companies have understood that developing a mobile app is not just needed but has become an essential part of development.

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In this digital and fast-growing world, cross-platform app development is the most popular trend amongst all the other trends. It is the most popular trend because there is just a single code base for Android and iOS platforms. This helps the developers to save time and their efforts to code for different platforms. React Native has already become a standard, but flutter is another thing that we need to know.

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Everything is possible through mobile phones. We don’t need to step out of the house for anything, from ordering important stuff and food online to managing your finances and every essential thing. Mobile app development companies have understood that developing a mobile app is not just needed but has become an essential part of development. 

What is cross-platform app development?
When we discuss mobile app development, our mind immediately strikes iOS and Android. But other than these two, there are many other mobile operating systems in the market, such as Ubuntu Touch, KaiOS, or PureOS; these are just a few names. Of course, Google and Apple’s OS are already there. This comprehensive covers 100% of the mobile app market.

Android’s share in the mobile app market is almost around 86% worldwide. Whereas iOS covers 44% of the US market so iOS makes more profit than Android. So if you are planning to target the audience globally, you must only focus on Custom Android app development. On the other hand, if you plan to target a US audience, you can focus on iOS development. 

Now imagine that you want to add similar functionalities and features in both Android and iOS apps. Note, this is where cross-platform app development came into the market. Cross-platform will help you make your work easier by running a single code base on both operating systems. Thus, cross-platform can help you to save the time of developers and also reduces their efforts. With the help of this, both Android and iOS can be developed in minimal time. 

Flutter is the best-known
Cross-platform as it is trending and latest in the cross-platform app development market. Before among the several tools, React Native was popular in cross-platform app development, but now flutter has taken over React native. Although, Google’s flutter is gaining attraction by adding and combining all the features needed to launch in speed, interactive mobile apps with a real look and feel. 

What is Flutter?
Flutter is an open-source UI Software Development Kit that was developed by Google and already introduced to the world three years ago. Flutter uses Google’s object-oriented Dart programming language. Dart is almost similar to JavaScript, and it has a simple syntax, which makes Flutter simple to learn for developers. 

Here given below are some stunning features of flutter:

• Cross-platform support
• Native performance
• Widgets
• Hot reload
• Google support

Cross-platform support
It is specifically created to optimize the development of absorbing applications that are compiled natively for the mobile web from a single code base. In mobile app development, it is used to develop applications that can work on iOS and Android. It also supports Google’s upcoming OS. 

Native performance
Compared to hybrid apps, applications created with flutter are much more than a native veneer over web apps. But, on the other hand, Dart allows developers to create mobile apps that are surely native and do not require a JavaScript bridge as the code is compiled before the time. 

Widgets
The whole concept of UI in Flutter moves around widgets provided out of the box in two specific styles designed to confirm Android and iOS design instructions. A widget can define various styles, layouts, and structural components of UI, such as buttons, colors, menus, fonts, forms, etc. they can be updated and combined to form compound elements. 

Hot reload
This feature allows developers to implant source code modifications directly into an app that is running, and it can be seen immediately without any restart or loss of state. This feature is highly useful as it avoids the long process of compilation that is very irritating, especially when developers have to perform minor changes in the code. No developers will like to wait for the time that no one knows that is used for compiling. This will show the missing things with the help of different colors that is very beneficial for the developers. Hot reload is not unique in a flutter, but it has been already there in the React native. 

Google support
Flutter is the same as React native; it is also free and open-source, but we shouldn’t forget the tech giant standing behind it. As the patron of Android, Google has a vested interest in keeping flutter strong. It provides facilities to create Android apps significantly, and it has also opened the doors for cross-platform app development. This means the Flutter app development company building iOS apps can quickly deploy software to Android mobiles using the same code. 

Benefits of using Flutter
Here given below is the list of the benefits you will get from flutter. Code writing will become fast.

As discussed above, the hot reload feature of flutter helps developers create code faster and develops many more influential applications for mobile. It is just a matter of seconds and helps the developers make their coding easier and convenient. It also helps to update the changes in the code, if any, in real-time. Debugging is also fast, and you won’t need any extra time to upgrade or update the app. 

If you need to test any look at the app or check the effects of the app, you can refer to it at that time with the help of a hot reload. It is proven itself the most convenient option for developers regarding the design, similarly to another process of native app development that requires rebuilding or redesigning the whole code that might be more time-consuming. 

Single code for both platforms 
As flutter has its design and widget, it doesn’t have to depend on another platform. The developer needs to write a single code base for an app that can run on both platforms. The single code base developed will run on both Android and iOS platforms without any need for modification or change in the code to put it in the right angle. This also means in a simple way that you need only one team to develop flutter apps. There are also a few involvements of people so the management and cost will be less. 

Lesser testing
As the code is the same for both android and iOS platforms you don’t need to test the code twice as it will be already tested before. You need to test the code once, and it will be available to run on both platforms. It will also speed up the process of quality assurance. It also reduces the work of quality assurance specialists as it just has a single app to test. 

Top performance
The developed apps using flutter are fast and user-friendly and work efficiently without any cutting when you scroll, hanging, or lagging. The Flutter team has stated that you can expect 60 frames per second constantly. These frames can show you the crystal clear quality of the screen. 

Beautiful design
With the help of flutter, you can easily customize or modify the widgets that are already existing in such a way that it matches your requirement. Not just this, but you can also create widgets of your own. The design is just as excellent as the native apps, and it has a great appearance. We all know that native apps are simple, fast, user-friendly, and have excellent user support. 

Conclusion
In this blog, you will come to know all the things you must know before using and developing apps through flutter. In addition, you will know the features and benefits of flutter. This is the best platform so far for creating a cross-platform app. You can hire a Flutter developer to build your mobile application.​

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rahim Makhani

Rahim Makhani, CEO and managing partner at Nevina Infotech, Enterprise Web App & Mobile Application Development Company, helps global businesses grow by the internet of things development. His 10+ experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and Blockchain, and some trending technologies. More than an app development company: Nevina infotech is an award-winning technology consultancy that transforms businesses by generating ideas, building products, and accelerating growth.

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