The mobile app marketplace has grown exponentially over the last decade, owing to the broad availability of mobile devices and the increasing popularity of Internet use. With over 6.3 billion smartphone users globally (according to Statista), it’s no surprise that the mobile app market is exploding.
As the number of people using smartphones grows, so does the demand for complex hybrid applications. As a result, businesses are constantly looking for cutting-edge technology and solutions to help them communicate with a diverse variety of target customers.
Hybrid apps, which can run on many platforms, are critical for businesses to compete in the continuously changing world of mobile app development.
Flutter hybrid app development has also gained popularity in recent years. In this blog, we’ll discuss the Flutter Hybrid app and why Flutter is the best option for designing your app.
Flutter vs React Native 2024: Head-to-Head Comparison
| Technology | React Native | Flutter |
| Created By | ||
| First Release | Jan 2015 | May 2017 |
| Main Architecture | Flux and Redux | BLoC |
| Programming Language | JavaScript | Dart |
| Components Library | Large inclusive library | Smaller, non-inclusive |
| Performance | Slower performance because of JavaScript bridging | High-performing, quick |
| Adaptive Components | Some are adaptive automatically. | Components aren’t adaptive. It needs to be configured manually. |
| Learning Curve | Easy to pick up, especially if you are used to React or Javascript before. | Components aren’t adaptive. It needs to be configured manually. |
| Ecosystem | Quite mature, used in production in many big companies around the world, many packages are available | Not yet mature, a smaller number of packages |
| Hot Reload | Supported | Supported |
| Apps | Instagram, Facebook, and Tesla | Google Ads, Philips Hue, and Postmuse |
| Time-to-market | Comparatively slower | Comparatively faster |
What is Flutter?
Flutter is a reactive, open-source, cross-platform mobile development framework based on the Dart programming language. Google developed both Dart and Flutter, and the tech behemoth employs the framework for some of its most important apps. The initial alpha release occurred in May 2017. However, Google has published new versions every few months, the most recent being in May 2021.
Famous Apps Developed Using Flutter
Despite having a more recent development than React Native, Flutter has produced numerous well-known apps that we know and enjoy today. This is a fast list:
1. Google Ads
Google Ads allows you to manage ad campaigns effortlessly from your smartphone. The service keeps track of your advertisements with live alerts, editing, real-time bidding, detailed data, and app customer assistance.
2. Cryptograph
Cryptograph is software that allows you to watch the behavior of thousands of cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum and Bitcoin. You can see rate maps and market history for each currency.
3. Postmuse
If you work in social media or marketing, you’ve probably heard about PostMuse, a tool that can significantly improve your content. The software allows you to enhance your material with custom image quality, calligraphy, story templates, and much more.
What is React Native?
React Native, developed by Facebook, is possibly the most well-known cross-platform mobile programming tool. React Native began as an internal hackathon project at Facebook in 2013 and was released to the public in 2015. React Native, a JavaScript framework built on the React library, allows you to ship iOS and Android apps from a single code base.
Is Flutter a programming language?
Flutter isn’t a programming language. It is a software development kit (SDK) that includes prewritten code, ready-to-use and customizable widgets, libraries, tools, and documentation for creating cross-platform applications. Dart, a cross-platform development language developed by Google, is used in Flutter.
Flutter does not use a bridge to communicate with the native layer (such as Android or iOS). This reduces performance concerns and increases the app’s starting speed.
Of course, because Flutter has its own programming language, developers who can write in Dart will be required to develop your project. Dart, on the other hand, is quite comparable to Java,.NET, Kotlin, Swift, and JavaScript, and it is relatively simple to learn.
Flutter App: How does Flutter help App Development?
Flutter makes it easier to create uniform, engaging user interfaces for applications across six platforms.
Because Flutter is a cross-platform development framework, we’ll start by comparing it to native development. Then we may emphasize Flutter’s unique qualities.
Native app development VS cross-Platform App Development
Native app development refers to the process of creating an application for a certain platform, such as iOS. In contrast, cross-platform app development involves creating an application for several platforms using a single codebase.
1. Native app development
Because developers code for a specific platform while developing native apps, they have complete access to native device capabilities. This often results in better performance and speed than cross-platform program development.
On the other hand, if you wish to publish an application across many platforms, native app development necessitates more code and developers. In addition to these costs, native app development might make it difficult to deploy on several platforms simultaneously while maintaining a consistent user experience. This is where cross-platform app development frameworks such as Flutter may help.
2. Cross-platform app development
Cross-platform app development enables developers to create applications for numerous platforms using a single programming language and codebase. If you want to release an app on many platforms, cross-platform app development is less expensive and takes less time than native app development.
This technique also enables developers to provide a more consistent experience for users across platforms.
This approach may have limitations when compared to native app development, such as limited access to native device features. However, Flutter includes capabilities that make cross-platform app creation easier and more performant.
What is Flutter Flow?
Flutter Flow is a visual development framework for building mobile apps with Google’s Flutter Framework. Flutter Flow attempts to simplify and accelerate app development by providing a user-friendly interface for creating, prototyping, and deploying Flutter apps without having to write a lot of code.
In addition, FlutterFlow allows you to develop custom widgets for use in the app. FlutterFlow’s layout is drag-and-drop with an easy-to-use tree structure that allows you to use built-in widgets or import your own.
This is particularly beneficial for interactive user interfaces and animation. It also includes time widget support, which allows you to develop stateful widgets that may be utilized throughout the program.
Features of Flutter Flow
Flutter Flow is a powerful app development toolkit that may be used for a variety of tasks. Let’s look at its key features and strengths.
1. Firebase Integration
FlutterFlow allows you to link Firebase with your existing backend services, such as data storage and authentication, to simplify typical app requirements. With this tight connectivity, you’ll no longer have to handle your backend infrastructure.
2. Visual Logic Editor
A graphical interface allows you to control your app’s behavior through pre-defined actions and circumstances, reducing the need for complex code. You can use visible and straightforward controls to determine how your app responds to user interaction and data changes.
3. Custom Widgets
Flutter Flow allows you to import custom widgets into an application. This is especially beneficial for mobile developers who want to work with Google’s Material Design language but don’t require the same amount of customization as the normal Material Kit library on iOS.
4. Flexible Layout
In addition, the software lets you design full-screen layouts in Flutter or split-screen instances for landscape. There are numerous ways to add widgets to a page, including animating them and responding to user motions.
5. Clean API Interface
The program is also built on Google’s Material Design principles, and it features a simple interface for managing your app’s data: getter, setter, and native iOS API calls may be utilized in Flutter flow widgets and custom widgets.
Benefits of Flutter Flow
1. Cross-platform Development
FlutterFlow’s ease of cross-platform development is one of its most popular features among customers. It is really simple to migrate an app from the web to mobile; with a single toggle, you will be able to support web, mobile, and desktop.
2. Rapid prototyping
FlutterFlow’s built-in capabilities, like basic templates, pages, and action logic, make it simple to prototype and build mobile apps quickly. Its cloning extends across multiple projects, accelerates development, and ensures consistency.
3. Customization
Aside from built-in integrations, FlutterFlow allows you to supplement your mobile app with custom code and broaden your customization possibilities by leveraging thousands of resources on PubDev.
4. Visual Design
Flutter Flow enables you to create highly interactive user interfaces (UI) using a visual interface and deliver your product as a code-free executable. It’s perfect for developers who don’t want to write code for their apps but still want the flexibility to make modifications as needed.
5. No coding is necessary
Flutter Flow can be used by anyone with limited coding experience. It may be used to create Flutter apps with visual interfaces. This can be useful for people who are new to coding.
Conclusion
Google’s Flutter app development framework is quickly expanding. Aside from its numerous useful features, the framework offers the extra benefit of assisting commercial organizations in their success. There has never been a better moment to move from another framework to Flutter for hybrid app development.