Flutter App Development - Advantages And Drawbacks

Flutter is now the talk of the town when it comes to cross-platform mobile app development. In order to run seamlessly on both iOS and Android platforms, Flutter has earned its place in the top of the list of cross-platform technologies. If you are a hardcore developer and are always looking for new hacks to improve your mobile application development, Flutter is a renowned technology that you can use. Due to some of Flutter's best-known features, the platform has been drawing a lot of attention from many organizations.

When a developer develops an application for both iOS and Android, he/she typically has to write different codes for each platform. This has become a costly and time-consuming option for developers and business owners alike. Thus, native app development increases the budget of a business owner and requires you to spend a large amount of money.

What is Flutter?

Apart from Flutter, various frameworks on the market are capable of writing the same code for both Android and iOS platforms. Such tools are known as cross-platform mobile app development frameworks. You can even hire Flutter developers from the mobile app development company.

Among all the cross-platform tools - Phonegap, Xamarin, React Native, and more - the Flutter framework has become a renowned platform among developers, entrepreneurs, and users. It’s an open-source platform that is used to develop a cross-platform mobile application with single source code.

So, we could say that Flutter is a developer-friendly programming language, as developers will have to write less code to develop an application if they use it. Though mobile app development with the Flutter app development looks easy and reliable, as of now, it comes with many advantages - and disadvantages, too.

In this article, we will explain to you in detail about Flutter app development, as well as its advantages and drawbacks. But first, let’s understand what Flutter is.

But What Is Flutter Exactly?

Flutter is an open-source and free technology developed by Google in May 2017, used for creating native Android and iOS apps with a single codebase. Flutter is based on the Dart programming language and React Programming Architecture that supports Android Studio, Firebase APIs, inline videos & ads, and offers the development of high-performance applications. It’s more like an SDK for applications designed for touch screen devices, and works well with iOS and Android.

Flutter is not a framework, but it’s a complete SDK (Software Development Kit) that already contains everything you need to build cross-platform applications. This includes a rendering engine, ready-made widgets, testing and integration APIs, and command-line tools.

Given the various features and benefits Flutter offers, it’s no wonder it is one of the most popular Google software types available. Like all other technologies, Flutter also has both pros and cons.

Benefits of Flutter App Development Services

Flutter has attained superiority in the market because it has impressed a large community of developers and other app owners. Let’s look at the advantages of the Flutter app development services for developing a mobile application.

1. Hot Reload

The best part of this feature is that it is the feature through which developers and designers can quickly identify all the changes and improvements that have been made to the code in the app. That’s why Hot Reload strengthens the bond between developers and designers when they are looking for ways to improve how the app looks, and checks the effect immediately.

2. High Performance

There’re many factors that impact the performance of an app, including CPU usage, frame number per second, request number per second, average response time, and many more. The rate of Flutter is 60fps, at which contemporary screens display a smooth and clear picture.

With this frame rate, the human eye can identify any lag. If you compare it with React Native and Xamarin, this framework is ahead with a 220-millisecond launch time and 58fps.

3. Immediate Updates

Flutter offers a hot reload functionality that allows for instant updates without the need for plugins. A hot reload also allows you to view updates in real-time. If you face an error while running the code, the framework lets you fix it immediately, and carry on without having to restart the app.

With hot reload, you can improve productivity. It also allows for experimentation without lengthy delays, and assists with fast iterations.

4. Custom Widgets for Quick UI Coding

Flutter has ready-designed and custom widgets. These widgets are used to create an excellent app interface and appearance. While many approaches could be used with different objects like controllers, views, and layout, this framework features a unified and consistent object model. Every object in this tool is a widget - fonts, color schemes, menus, buttons, and padding also. By combining the widgets to form layouts, you can utilize widgets on any customization level. The widgets of Flutter are consistent and have extensive capabilities.

5. Mild Learning Curve

Most people find that learning a Dart programming language is easy. Many developers with little coding knowledge can develop prototypes and apps with Flutter's framework. The mobile app development experience will not factor into this development.

6. Cross-Platform Rendering Engine

Flutter has a high-performance rendering engine, to render your app cross-platform without affecting UI. It uses skia for rendering, and offers next-level cross-platform integration to help your user use the app seamlessly through any platform.

There are many video lessons, documents, a starting guide, and practical lessons for Flutter all over the Internet.

Disadvantages of Flutter App Development Services

Likewise, Flutter has its downfalls. The Flutter technology is not mature at the moment, which means it still has a lot of room to grow, expand, and get better.

1. Large File Sizes

One big dectractor that cannot be ignored is the large file size of apps developed in Flutter. For some cases, these file sizes could create a significant issue and cause a developer to choose an alternative tool for the app's development. Many phones have sufficient memory storage space, so that does not happen everywhere in the world with most users. Many older devices are unable to store additional apps without users being forced to pick and choose between an app or photos/music on their device. However, this file size offers you improved runtime and performance, so it’s not easy to understand the audience to whom you are appealing.

2. Lack of Third-party Libraries

Third-party libraries and packages make a significant impact on software development, as they enable some features for developers. These third-party libraries are normally free, open-source, pre-tested, and easily available. However, you may not find every single feature you need for the development, for now.

Ssince Flutter is new to mobile app development, it’s not easy to find such free packages and libraries using it. This tool is still in the growing and improving phase. Hence, you will have to wait to use it, or choose an alternative for long-term development.

3. Issues with iOS

Flutter was developed by Google, which is why developers are worried about its implementation for iOS. However, because Google is very interested in fixing bugs in the shortest amount of time, building Android apps on Flutter is fast and enjoyable.

One of the latest updates in Flutter is its pixel-perfect iOS appearance. iPhone settings were inplemented on the framework to enable the Cupertino widgets. But based on iOS 10 and iOS 11, features were updated later and released for awhile.

4. Dart

Flutter uses a Dart programming language. This has both benefits and drawbacks. This object-oriented programming language is not as ideal as other languages are, such as C#, Java, Objective C, and JavaScript.

Not many freshers will be able to develop an app using Dart programming language. So, this is an essential factor to keep in mind while developing a cross-platform application.

Is Flutter Good For Development?

By identifying its advantages and disadvantages, we have concluded that Flutter has many more pros than cons for business and development teams. You can surely build beautiful, high-performance, and amazing cross-platform mobile applications that fit your custom needs and requirements. It’s worth considering using Flutter, especially if you want to develop for both iOS and Android. Hiring a Flutter developer is much more cost-effective than to hire two native app developers (one for Android and one for iOS).