Android has been ruling market since a very long time and undoubtedly it has exceeded all the expectations in developing apps and providing a hassle-free experience to the users. However, with changing times and need for more cross-platform solutions many app developers feel that now the time has come for a transition and to move on to solutions like flutter which can overcome some significant pitfalls which usually becomes a hindrance in android execution.
There are various hurdles and pitfalls hamper and confines the innovativeness of app designers, and owing to this they unwillingly have to restrict themselves while developing any application for users. But before we move ahead it is really important to understand what flutter is and why it's time for android developers from
android app company to pay attention to flutter growth.
What is Flutter?
Both android as well flutter is the product of google. In 2005 google bought android after the first android application development at android Inc. However, Flutter is the baby of Google itself and in 2017 the first-ever flutter SDK was launched by Google.
Flutter is a versatile SDK which is free and open-source in nature. It can help app developers to develop android as well as iOs applications with codes of similar nature. it is a cross-platform solution which is there for a very long time but has started gaining immense importance in recent times only and is now booming for the reason that it provides low budget solutions. Also, the architecture of flutter is primarily based on reactive programming which is latest and up to date technology to develop an app without any hassle.
App developers now a days are looking for options which require less time as well as a low investment but when it comes to android or iOs budget and time both are usually high because both these solutions require multiple tech stacks, thus shifting to some cross-platform solution like flutter is the only viable option for the developers all around the world.
Flutter vs Native Android
Recently Google has announced that from now onwards Kotlin is going to be the official language of native android, not only google has changed the language from Java to Kotlin but it is also working on its operating system to make it more efficient. The native android system undoubtedly has some amazing features over any other cross-platform solution but since the time flutter has come into the picture, it has become really difficult to distinguish between an app created through native android and flutter. The reason for flutter growth is that the apps designed on the same are smooth, slick and highly native.
Here is the comparison of flutter vs android using some basic features:
- Developer productivity: Developing apps through native android, developers need to use android studio and the tools embedded in the same. Also, every time the developer makes some changes they have to redo everything to make sure that adjustments are in sync with the emulator.
However, while working with flutter no such problem arises and if the change is made it gets reflected in emulator there and then. Developers need not redo everything from the scratch thus working with flutter saves time as well as cost spent on redoing things.
- Technological architecture: Even though both flutter and android are looked after by google still the structure and modus operandi of both are very different. The design used is unique and has no resemblance to each other. Flutter applications can easily be created by using light editors whereas android applications seldom work properly through light editors and require relatively advanced editors. Also, languages used in flutter and android are different, where android uses Java and kotlin, flutter uses dart. Flutter has everything that designers need to develop local applications.
- Testing support: Even the instruments used for testing apps developed by either flutter or native android are different. Local applications developed with the help of either android or flutter can be tested through Gradle or android studio, however, high-end apps require more accessibility and thus UI testing is used to test the apps developed using languages like Kotlin and Java. Vacillate driver is a kind of bundle required to run these tests. Apps developed through flutter can be tested through various flutter coordination tests but at the same time, these can be tested on emulators as well.
Why flutter wins the race when it comes to Flutter vs Android
In recent times for any app developer or designer flutter is the most viable option for application development. Looking at the speed at which developers are substituting android with flutter for developing applications it seems that soon it is going to be the most accessible cross-platform solution for developing applications.
Here are some of the advantages of using flutter as a solution for developing apps in the future:
Versatile: One of the best features of an app developed through flutter is its versatile nature. Applications with flutter base are good with multiple operating systems, this helps to reduce the testing time of different applications on different stages.
Open source: Another feature of flutter that makes it stand out in comparison to android is that it is open source. Both dart and shudder can be used and structures can easily be sourced openly. It helps in providing quality support to the clients if they face any issue in terms of networking or documentation.
Capacity: As compared to android, flutter has a relatively high capacity. As we know that it is a cross-platform solution thus even a similar code can be used to improvise at least two android and iOs applications at the same time. This helps in recovering both time as well as resources.
UI: Flutter helps in creating the applications using equivalent UI even if used on old operating system gadgets, and the best part is that as a user or developer you need not pay any additional charges. OS like an android jellybean, iOs, ripple boosters is some of the examples of old OS on which applications developed through flutter and UI work well.
Minimum viable product: As flutter is a cross-platform solution and has comparatively quick advancement solutions it has become the most appropriate choice for improving the minimum viable product. All around the world various investors and ventures are opting for flutter for advancement as well as for being less expensive.
Provides own widgets: Unlike android, flutter provides its widgets leading to the high-performance rendering engine. These widgets are quick, customizable and pretty to work with. These features make flutter growth more viable and eminent.
Code writing: In today's time flutter has become synonymous to speed for all the app developers. It is undoubtedly a faster and dynamic way of creating applications. The various features and hot reloads helps in writing codes in milliseconds. Also, it helps in experimenting and fixing bugs faster.
Requires less testing: As compared to apps developed through android, flutter apps require less testing. Because of being a cross-platform solution the quality assurance process is relatively faster. Quality assurance specialists usually have less work to do as even if the app is developed on two platforms they just have to check it once. However, if any discrepancy arises then one may need to check the same on both the platforms.
Customizable and appealing designs: Flutter provides numerous options and makes it easy for developers to chose widgets and it even gives access to change the existing widgets according to customer needs and requirements.
Flutter undoubtedly has many advantages but there is always a scope for improvement and thus even flutter has a few cons which if handled properly can create no problem in developing apps:
Continuous support: Flutter is still not supported by CI platforms like Jenkins and thus require continuous integrations support. To perform testing or to achieve automatic building flutter developers still need to maintain manual scripts to provide continuous support from the back end.
Support not as rich as native Android: There are various helpful libraries with readily available functionalities, also google's support to flutter is really impressive but still as compared to support and libraries available for native android in unmatchable. This is the only time-consuming process through which the developer has to undergo as he may have to build a database on his own without any literature available. It may be because android has been into existence for more than a decade whereas flutter has recently gained such popularity and to build such vast support and library it may take some time.
To conclude with I would say that even though flutter may have few cons but still it holds a very special place in the future of app developments. Looking at its features and advantages, one can easily overlook the disadvantages. Also, the more developers will start using flutter more refined and better version will come into existence.
Though it is still a question whether flutter will surpass android or not but there is no harm in saying that it has some amazing features which can change the outlook of the app development industry.
