What is Flutter app development? A game changer in application development

Flutter is an open-source UI toolkit created by Google in May 2017 to create attractive and eye-catching UIs. It uses the Dart programming language for layout and widgets, enabling the creation of beautiful UIs that look and feel native. It is also the only structure with a mobile SDK that utilizes numerous device designs without leveraging the JavaScript bridge.With its outstanding performance compared to the other frameworks and its ability to develop and compile apps natively, Flutter has surely brought a pivotal change in the mobile app development industry.

As we look at the future of mobile app development in the coming years, Flutter app development represents a radical shift in application development. In this blog, we will explore the layers of the Flutter app and why it has gained popularity among businesses. Before that, let’s review the statistics related to Flutter's widespread adoption and its market ranking.

Statistical facts about Flutter

• Flutter has a global community of nearly 2 million developers and has grown since its release in December 2018, when version 1.0 was released. According to Google, Flutter shows 10% month-over-month growth.
• More than 1 million apps have been developed in 2023 leveraging Flutter and are functioning at full scale.
• According to Statista, Flutter’s popularity has grown from 30% to 46% within three years. Flutter has become the sixth most loved framework among software developers.
• A recent stack overflow survey shows Flutter is among the top 10 and most widely adopted frameworks compared to other languages.

Comprehending the Flutter Architecture

Flutter's flexible architecture and single codebase feature make it compatible with multiple platforms, including macOS, Linux, and Windows. However, it is vital to understand its app development architecture to build an engaging user experience.

Here are the Flutter layers:-

Framework layer

Flutter’s first layer is the framework layer. It offers the Flutter app development company in the USA extensive libraries, tools, and APIs to build intuitive user interfaces and handle user engagement. The framework layer comprises a rendering engine, widgets, an animation framework, and a gesture recognition system. The widgets are leveraged for building Flutter UI blocks, and the rendering engine facilitates rapid and smooth performance across various platforms.

Engine layer:

The engine layer is underneath the framework layer, which is accountable for handling input events, rendering UI components, and managing platform-specific tasks. The Flutter engine utilizes C++ and includes Skia, a 2D graphics tool for rendering UI elements. It leverages Platform channels to communicate with platform-specific code and allows Flutter mobile applications to access native functionalities and features.

Platform layer

The platform layer is Flutter's last layer. It consists of platform-specific code. Flutter offers packages and plugins for retrieving platform-specific features such as GPS, cameras, network connectivity, and file systems. Plugins and packages are also used to integrate native functionalities into the Flutter apps easily.

Flutter SDK: Flutter’s Dart Programming Language

Google developed the Flutter SDK (Software Development Kit), which depends on the Dart Programming language. Dart was introduced to replace traditional JavaScript. It can run directly on servers and web browsers and undergoes conversion to JavaScript via the Dart2js trans-complier.

Google’s emerging platform- Fuchsia

Fuchsia apps are built directly using Dart. Their architecture resembles popular Java or C# programming languages. By utilizing well-defined Embedder API (and ABI) and integrating Flutter-based applications with Fuchsia OS, Flutter on Fuchsia can offer customization easily.

What makes Flutter a popular choice?

1. Faster time to market

Most companies want to build high-quality applications as rapidly as possible. Flutter leverages the Hot Reload feature to develop apps quickly and enables faster app release in the market.

The Hot Reload and Hot Restart feature lets developers see the changes whenever they modify the code or design. It also offers many features to simplify the process of app building.

This feature enables developers to enhance productivity, add features to the app, and create various interfaces rapidly. This also eliminates the code delay while updating.

2. Single-codebase

Flutter’s robust framework enables developers to write the codebase once and seamlessly use it across multiple platforms, including iOS and Android. Hence, Flutter offers a consistent user experience, as apps built with Flutter can be used on different operating systems and devices.

A single codebase streamlines the development process, saves development costs, ensures consistency, and reduces the chances of errors.

3. Leveraging Dart language

Dart is a declarative programming language. Flutter apps are written in Dart and are mainly used to create different UI designs.

Dart enables developers to write fewer lines of code than other development frameworks. This leads to fewer bugs and decreased application malfunctioning.

4. Flutter’e Extensibility

If you require a plugin or widget that does not exist, you can easily create one using the Dart programming language. Flutter development company in the USA integrates many Flutter game plugins to create lightweight Flutter applications.

Flutter offers extensible and customizable widgets that can be updated easily. Flutter also helps developers create engaging, scalable applications for iOS and Android with appealing user interfaces. Therefore, developers leverage Flutter to develop high-performing applications for various platforms.

5. Rich UI library

Flutter app development is the developer's primary choice for building cross-platform applications for multiple platforms. It includes plenty of pre-built widgets, which accelerate the development process. It also offers many reusable UI components like sliders, buttons, and text input to develop various sections of the applications. Flutter also offers the option of building customizable UI for developers to use their imagination and design innovative UI for applications.

6. Automated development

Traditional mobile app development approaches require manual intervention in development workflows. A mobile app development company in the USA leverages Flutter’s workflow automation to streamline these workflows. This reduces manual efforts conventionally associated with cross-platform app development. This modification minimizes errors and enables the application components to work cohesively, simplifying the process.

7. Flutters growing community

Flutter’s community has been growing constantly since its introduction. It has a large and active community of developers who provide different solutions, resources, and materials for everything related to Flutter. The developers can easily connect on platforms like Slack, Discord, and GitHub. On these platforms, the developers can share the problems or code-related issues they face while coding in Flutter; those with solutions will help them.

8. Flutter is tried and tested

Flutter is tried and tested, which means it is reliable and effective. This is one of the reasons Flutter app development is widely adopted by developers worldwide to create applications for platforms like Windows, iOS, Android, and many more. Also, application testing is easy and quick in Flutter, which is another reason developers prefer to use it.

The Future of Flutter App Development

Flutter has been a game-changer in mobile app development since Google launched it in 2017.

Flutter app development is a technical but strategic choice businesses make to remain competitive in the market. Its benefits, such as a single codebase, faster time to market, rich UI library, and large community support, make it an appealing option for big companies and startups.

Leveraging Flutter facilitates building high-performing, low-latency apps for Android and iOS. It utilizes the top-of-material design specification, which provides a consistent look and feel across platforms. By associating with the right Flutter app development company, you can embark on this journey and ensure your mobile application stands out The potential for future Flutter development is huge for developers, companies, and start-ups.