Flutter is the Future of App Development: Here’s the Proof

Flutter has emerged as a transformative UI development framework. It has been continuously making impressive progress in the world of app development since its inception. By empowering developers to build cutting-edge mobile apps, it has set out itself as a market disruptor. Its ability to create high-quality mobile apps efficiently makes it the top choice in the industry.

Therefore, this Google-backed technology is reshaping the future of app development. If you are curious to know why Flutter is turning into a disruptive force and how it is becoming the future of app development. Then, here in this blog, we will discuss it. So, let’s dive into

The Current Market Landscape Of Flutter App Development

Flutter was launched in May 2017 by Google. It was built to support the creation of single-code applications for web, mobile, and desktop platforms. This is a feature-rich UI SDK that enables developers to create intuitive UIs and responsive features. Thus, Flutter helps in not only reducing the development efforts but also costs and launch time.

In the past few years, Flutter has evolved as one of the top cross-platform app development frameworks in the market. This framework is used by developers and mobile app development companies across the entire globe. Businesses and startups hire Flutter app developers to build customized mobile apps for Android and iOS.

In 2023, over 13,887 companies have used Flutter in their app development tools. Out of this, 21.48% of Flutter users are from India, 17.26% from the USA, and 6.61% from Brazil.

Source: 6Sense

According to the latest mobile app industry statistics, Flutter’s dominance over the mobile app development market has increased substantially. It has gained an edge over its top rival React Native. And other popular cross-platform app development tools also.

Flutter’s Explosive Rise in Popularity Over the Years

Source: Stack Overflow

Cross-Platform Frameworks Used by Developers Worldwide (2019- 2022)

Source: Statista

Examples of Successful Apps Built with Flutter

Flutter has been used by various companies including leading brands. There are many popular mobile apps built with Flutter that contribute to business growth. Below are mentioned some of them.

1. Alibaba Group’s Xianyu: Xianyu is one of China’s largest online marketplaces for second-hand goods.
2. Google Ads: Google developed the Google Ads app using Flutter.
3. Tencent’s Nowcoder: Nowcoder is a platform for IT and software engineering learning.
4. Reflectly: Reflectly is a popular mindfulness and journaling app.
5. eBay Motors: eBay Motors, a branch of eBay focused on automotive sales, used Flutter to develop its app.
6. The New York Times Crossword: The New York Times chose Flutter to build the mobile app for its renowned crossword puzzle.
7. Nubank: A leading digital bank in Brazil, employed Flutter for its mobile banking app.
8. Dream11: It is a fantasy sports platform in India that utilized Flutter to enhance the user experience of its app.
9. Hamilton: The official app for the hit musical “Hamilton” was built with Flutter.
10. Hookle: Hookle is a social media management and content scheduling app.

What Features Make Flutter a Better Cross-Platform Development Framework?

Flutter has gained popularity as a leading cross-platform development platform. It stands out from other frameworks due to several reasons. Here’s a detailed explanation of the features that make Flutter a good choice for building feature-powered mobile apps.

1. Single Codebase

Flutter allows developers to write code once. And use it across multiple platforms Android, iOS, web, and desktop. This single codebase approach significantly reduces development time and effort. As a result, it helps in saving a significant amount of the cost of app development.

2. Hot Reload

One of Flutter’s most celebrated features is its “Hot Reload” functionality. Developers can instantly see the impact of code changes in the app without restarting it. This feature accelerates development. Thus, this feature makes it highly efficient and productive.

3. Expressive UI

Flutter provides a rich set of customizable widgets. It allows developers to create visually stunning and highly customized user interfaces. Unlike some other cross-platform frameworks that use native components, Flutter renders its widgets directly on the canvas. Consequently, it allows for pixel-perfect UI control and delivers high-quality UX.

4. High-performance

Flutter’s architecture includes a high-performance rendering engine called Skia. This engine ensures smooth animations and fast UI rendering. This is particularly important for applications that require a fluid and responsive user experience. Therefore, apps built with Flutter deliver excellent app performance.

5. Access to Native Features

Flutter allows developers to access native platform features and APIs using platform channels. This means that you can seamlessly integrate platform-specific functionalities into your Flutter app. Hence, it gives you full control over device capabilities.

6. Rich Ecosystem

Flutter has a growing ecosystem of packages and plugins available on the Flutter pub. dev repository. These packages cover a wide range of functionalities. For instance, database integration, state management, and third-party service integration. As a result, this extensive library of packages simplifies development and speeds up the process.

7. Consistent Design Across Platforms

Flutter’s widgets are designed to follow the Material Design guidelines on Android and the Cupertino design principles on iOS. This ensures that your app maintains a consistent look. And, also gives the same feel on both platforms while allowing for customization.

8. Extensive Community Support

Flutter has a passionate and active developer community. This community contributes to the framework’s growth by creating plugins. It provides support on forums, tutorials, and other helpful resources. Thus, this community support is highly useful for Flutter developers for problem-solving and learning.

9. Web and Desktop Support

Flutter’s ability to target web and desktop platforms gives an additional advantage. This means you can use Flutter to build applications that run on a wide range of devices. As a result, it empowers you to expand your user reach across all platforms.

10. Open Source and Backed by Google

Flutter is an open-source project. It benefits from community contributions and is not tied to any proprietary platform. This framework is backed by Google. So, it adds credibility and ensures ongoing development and support.

11. Reduced Testing Effort

Since Flutter uses the same codebase across platforms, testing becomes more streamlined. You can focus on testing the core functionality of your app once. Consequently, reducing the testing effort and improving overall app quality.

12. Cost-Efficient

Developing with Flutter can be more cost-effective for businesses. This is because it reduces development time and effort. It also minimizes the need for platform-specific developers. And also provides a consistent user experience across platforms. Hence, Flutter helps in building mobile apps at reduced costs.

Comparison of Flutter with Other Cross-Platform Development Frameworks

Feature	Flutter	React Native	Xamarin
Development Language	Dart	JavaScript	C# (XAML for UI)
Single Codebase for Platforms	In-built	Yes	Yes
Performance	Excellent; Native compilation	Good; JavaScript bridge	Good; Uses Mono for compilation
UI Components	Custom widgets; Rich library	Native components; Extensible with libraries	Native components; Extensible
Hot Reload	Yes	Includes	Includes
Community and Ecosystem	Growing; Active	Large; Active	Large; Active
Development Time	Fast, due to Hot Reload	Good; Slower than Flutter	Good; Slower than Flutter
Learning Curve	Moderate; Dart may require adjustment	Low; Familiar web technologies	Moderate; C# familiarity helps
Native-Like Look and Feel	High	High	Medium
Platform-Specific Code	Required for some advanced features	Needed for some advanced features	Required for platform-specific features
Integration with Native Code	Easy through platform channels	Possible, but requires extra effort	Strong support for native integration
Community Support and Libraries	Growing library support and active community	Extensive library support and a large community	Extensive library support and community
Web and Desktop Support	Yes (Experimental)	No	Yes (with Xamarin. Forms for desktop)
Backed by	Google	Facebook	Microsoft
Licensing	Open-source	Open-source	Partly open-source; commercial options

8 Reasons Why Flutter is the Future of App Development

Flutter’s status as the future of app development is rooted in its unique features and advantages. It addresses many of the challenges faced by app developers today. Being open-source, Flutter benefits from continuous improvements. And it also updates from its active developer community and Google. This ensures that it remains up-to-date with the latest industry trends and technologies. Here are the following reasons why Flutter is becoming the future of mobile app development.

1. Performance and Speed

Flutter compiles native ARM code. This results in high app performance. It offers smooth animations, fast UI rendering, and excellent responsiveness. Eventually, it stands out as an ideal choice for building apps that require high-standard features.

2. Rich Ecosystem of Widgets

Flutter comes with a rich set of pre-designed widgets for common UI elements. Additionally, the Flutter community actively contributes to a vast library of packages and plugins that extend functionality. Hence, its usage to integrate various features into apps will increase more in the near time.

3. Web and Desktop Support

Flutter has expanded beyond mobile to support web and desktop application development. Developers can use a single codebase to target multiple platforms. Thus, developers and mobile app development companies will use Flutter predominantly due to its multi-platform support.

4. Strong Community and Resources

Flutter has a rapidly growing and engaged developer community. This means that developers have access to a variety of resources. For instance, tutorials, documentation, etc. And it keeps updating its resources to help them overcome challenges. So, new Flutter developers will have good community support and start with app development.

5. Google’s Ongoing Investment

Google continues to invest in Flutter. The tech giant is always working to ensure its long-term viability. Google’s backing adds credibility and reassurance for developers and businesses alike. In the near time, Google will release more updates for Flutter to make it more useful.

6. Cost-Effectiveness

Flutter’s cross-platform nature and faster development times translate to cost savings for businesses. With this framework, developers can deploy the same codebase. And also use natively-complied components for Android and iOS. Hence, it allows startups and enterprises to build high-quality apps within budget constraints.

7. Expanded Industry Adoption

Flutter is being adopted across various industries. For example, finance, e-commerce, entertainment, healthcare, and education. This widespread adoption is a testament to its versatility and suitability for diverse app needs. Therefore, businesses across different industries will prefer Flutter for building market-ready apps.

8. Flutter for Embedded Systems

Flutter’s adaptability extends to embedded systems. It is quite suitable for developing user interfaces for devices beyond smartphones and tablets, such as smart TVs, IoT devices, and more. As the demand for Flutter app development services is increasing for other emerging technologies. So, Flutter’s development adaptability will make it a prominent framework in the near time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Flutter has emerged as a true pioneer in the realm of mobile app development. Its unique combination of features and capabilities has propelled it to be at the forefront of the competition. Thus, making it not just a trend but a transformative force.

As we look ahead, Flutter’s trajectory seems destined to redefine the way we build, deploy, and experience applications. Therefore, its evolution as the future of mobile app development is not a surprise.

For business, this gives a huge market scope to launch a business-oriented mobile app with future-proof technology. RipenApps being the top Flutter app development company can assist you in building a top-notch mobile app using Flutter for your business.