Flutter framework
What is Flutter?
Simply put, with Flutter, you can create an application that runs smoothly across various platforms without the need to write separate code for each one. This approach significantly speeds up the app development process and broadens your market reach, allowing you to reach more users. Additionally, it offers considerable savings on the Total Cost of Ownership for product owners.
Initially released in beta in May 2017, Flutter's first stable version launched in December 2018, marking its evolution into a robust solution for mobile app development. Since then, the framework has steadily gained popularity, culminating in the development of over one million iOS and Android apps by May 2023.
With this growth, Flutter is no longer a niche solution; it has become a top choice for major enterprises worldwide. In recent years, companies like Credit Agricole, Toyota, Wolt, Bricomarché, Sizeer, and ClickUp have built or migrated their applications to Flutter—and the list keeps growing!
What are the advantages of using Flutter?
Single codebase
Declarative UI for pixel-perfect screens
Effective Dart for high-performance apps
Many open-source libraries
Vast documentation and community support
Improved developer experience
Extendibility for integrating with native SKDs
Add-to-App for gradual migration to Flutter
Flutter is a comprehensive set of software development tools and a cross-platform solution that enables developers to build web, mobile, and desktop applications from a single codebase. One key advantage of this approach is that the same scripts can be used for both iOS and Android native apps without any modifications, significantly enhancing the speed of application development.
What’s the current state of Flutter?
In 2024, Flutter has continued its steady growth and development with the release of Flutter 3.24, which introduces significant advancements that enhance visual performance and user experience, like Flutter GPU API, thanks to which it’s possible to implement detailed graphics and 3D scenes. This year’s improvements in Flutter feature more future-oriented AI capabilities, allowing for easier integration of machine learning models and speech recognition directly into apps.
It’s worth mentioning that the fast-paced development of Flutter isn't limited to mobile; the Flutter for Web platform is also maturing rapidly. Currently, 64% of CTOs report they are using Flutter to build web applications, highlighting its growing popularity. One of the most notable updates in Flutter for Web is the stable support for compiling web apps to WebAssembly (Wasm), which can significantly enhance performance. Additionally, the latest version introduces hot reload for the web, a feature that streamlines the development process by allowing real-time updates during coding sessions. If you want to learn more about the strategic vision behind Flutter for Web, be sure to check out our interview with Kevin Moore, Product Manager at Google.
The numbers speak for themselves: according to our survey, a whopping 98.9% of CTOs and Tech Leads express satisfaction with Flutter, and 95.7% would choose it again for their next software projects. This should come as no surprise, given that over 80% of respondents report building more than one app using Flutter, showcasing its reliability and scalability. The Flutter community remains a driving force, actively contributing to its ecosystem with new plugins and resources. This ongoing support ensures Flutter remains robust, versatile, and capable of delivering high-performance apps across iOS, Android, web, and desktop, solidifying its position as the go-to choice for cross-platform app development.
Discover how CTOs and Tech Leads are using Flutter in 2024
What is Flutter used for?
Mobile apps
Flutter is the go-to solution for developing high-performance mobile applications for Android and iOS. You can build native-like apps with a single codebase that offer smooth user experiences and platform-specific functionalities.
Web apps
With Flutter, you can build responsive web applications that run seamlessly on the most popular browsers, including Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. It’s also ideal for developing PWAs and SPAs, allowing you to create dynamic, efficient web experiences.
Desktop apps
Flutter also enables you to build robust Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop apps. Whether you need a highly customizable design or are building a media-rich app with offline capabilities, Flutter for desktop is a powerful and flexible solution.
Embedded devices
Flutter extends beyond mobile, web, and desktop, making it an excellent choice for building applications on embedded devices like smart displays and IoT systems. Its efficient architecture ensures fast performance even on resource-constrained devices.
What’s the future of Flutter?
It’s safe to say that the future of Flutter looks incredibly bright. Flutter has already established itself as the go-to framework for large-scale applications, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Furthermore, development teams using Flutter are already harnessing future-oriented advancements in AI, like Large Language Models within their development tools, enabling them to build even more efficient applications.
It’s important to highlight the contribution of the incredibly active Flutter community, as they continuously improve the framework and enrich its ecosystem with a wide range of plugins, packages, and resources. There's no doubt that their efforts are the driving force behind the constant development of this cross-platform framework and will continue to shape its future, ensuring it remains relevant and powerful for developers around the globe.
If you’d like to learn more, check out our exclusive interview where our CEO, Łukasz Kosman, sat down with Craig Labetz, Developer Relations Engineer at Google, to discuss the future of Flutter. You’ll gain expert insights directly from Silicon Valley about what’s next for Flutter, including the answer to the everlasting question: "Will Google kill Flutter?".
