Today, businesses are focused on developing mobile apps for remote communication, e-learning, online shopping, contactless payments, and the list goes on. Modern technology has enhanced the capabilities of smartphones and mobile development. Simultaneously, technologies in the software arena are becoming crucial to match the fast-growing innovations in industries.
Frameworks, languages, and toolkits need to meet changing demands of the 21st century with their performance, exceptional user interface, automation, and efficiency. These platforms need to enable accelerated development and provide attractive features to the mobile app. Following are some of the latest trends that will impact mobile development in the 21st century:
- Cross-platform apps
- Hybrid apps with personalization
- Low code mobile app development
- AI-driven chatbots and other AI solutions
- AR and VR implementation
- Mobile wallets and voice payments
- UI/UX design and advanced animations
- IoT smart devices connectivity
21st-century businesses need to satisfy these trends while developing their mobile app. Most businesses fail due to their wrong choice for mobile development technology. Flutter is an ideal cross-platform framework to develop mobile apps seamlessly. It speeds up the app development processes while reducing development costs. Additionally, it offers smooth and beautiful animations to provide a great user experience.
What makes Flutter attractive for mobile app development?
lutter is Google’s free, open-source UI framework launched in 2017. The framework facilitates the development of native apps and engaging user interfaces for desktop, mobile, and web using a single codebase. It is the best choice for entrepreneurs, startups, and even large-scale enterprises to develop a mobile app with modern features in a cost-effective way. Some interesting facts about Flutter that make it popular among mobile app developers are:
- Free and open source cross-platform framework
- Powerful framework in comparison to other languages
- Easy to use
- Based on Dart, i.e., a fast, easy, and object-oriented programming language
- Provides widgets, drawn with its own fast, customizable, and high-performance rendering engine
- A popular alternative to React Native and native app development
- An open beta for Google mobile ads SDK with Flutter 2.0
- 114k stars on GitHub and more than 2 million users since December 2018
- According to Google, 35% of startups, 26% enterprise developers, 19% self-employed, and 7% of design agencies use Flutter to develop their apps
Flutter provides a straightforward way for hybrid and cross-platform mobile app development. Developers need not develop separate apps for Android and iOS as Flutter allows one codebase for both platforms. In a data-driven and competitive world, hybrid framework development platforms are essential for businesses, and Flutter is setting new trends in mobile app development.
How is Flutter setting trends in mobile app development in 2022 and beyond?
Flutter has been upgrading its versions since its launch in December 2018. It is becoming perfect with each update to meet the changing demands of mobile app development. Simultaneously, Flutter is setting new mobile app development trends that will continue beyond 2022. Some of these trends are as follows:
Single codebase
Flutter stands out as a mobile app development framework due to its write-once approach. It can develop apps seamlessly for different platforms, eliminating the inability of traditional frameworks to build cross-platform apps. Earlier, developers had to write multiple codes for multiple platforms. But Flutter provides a hybrid application development framework using which developers can write the code only once and use it on different platforms, be it Android or iOS operating systems. Flutter has become the most preferred development platform as it reduces the daily efforts of users and developers, allowing them to enhance the application design, speed, and quality.
Efficient code writing and app testing
Flutter provides a very efficient and subtle application development process. Since it needs only a single code, the app development process is streamlined and accelerated significantly. The single codebase approach allows developers to reuse the code with different plugins, reducing the overall app development time. Additionally, when it comes to testing, a simple quality assurance process is enough to verify the functionality, program, and features of a cross-platform app. Therefore, Flutter is the perfect combination of code writing and app testing.
Hot reloading
One of the key features that makes Flutter cross-platform app development so popular is hot reloading or hot restart. Hot reload enables developers to modify and view changes in the code while the application is running. This feature allows developers to experiment with the code and view the progress side by side, thereby increasing their productivity and enabling exceptional bug fixing.
Suitable for Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Mobile app development using Flutter assists in displaying MVP to investors. Since it does not require developing two separate applications for Android and iOS, enterprises can easily discuss their business model with simplicity and acquire funding. Not only does Flutter save time, but it also helps cut down on resources by skipping the project prototype, development, and testing processes. Moreover, Flutter is compatible with Firebase, which helps remove the separate backend requirement for building a simple MVP. That makes Flutter app development a great success for any business.
Widgets utilization
Widgets are a key element of the application interface. Flutter is integrated with apps to provide multiple widgets such as scrolling, navigation, fonts, and more. These widgets are customizable and can easily adapt to the screen size, providing developers a smooth user interface experience compared to app development on other cross-platform frameworks.
Simple app development programming language
Flutter is based on the Dart programming language, which is Google’s in-house language. Dart is a general-purpose open source language, and so developers with any level of programming knowledge find this language comparatively easy and simple to access than other languages. Another advantage of Dart is that it is not limited to the mobile app development framework, but can also be used in the development of web, desktops, as well as server apps.
Easy modification and customization
Flutter is a comprehensive app development framework that takes care of every aspect of the app development process – from development and maintenance to testing and customization. Due to a single codebase, Flutter-powered applications are easy to modify and maintain. It ensures the high-quality performance of the app for a long period. Due to hot reloading, the codebase can be fixed easily and quickly. The combination of a single codebase and hot reloading helps developers get rid of the pressure of working on the app code. Moreover, Flutter makes app maintenance and customization cost-effective compared to other platforms like React Native.
Easy setup and maintenance
Due to a single codebase, Flutter apps are easy to develop and maintain. It also improves the application performance and reduces maintenance efforts compared to other app development frameworks. Whenever an issue is detected, developers can quickly make changes without having to scroll back and forth on the codes again and again. As such, businesses can save money that would otherwise be spent on identifying, detecting, and solving issues in the code.
This sums up how Flutter is setting trends in mobile app development. Developers do not need to make changes in codes separately while upgrading app features for different operating systems. There is no doubt Flutter is the best choice for today’s app development demands.
Flutter is reshaping the mobile app development domain with its capabilities. It has the potential to change the face of modern businesses by providing them with the latest features and high-performing mobile apps. With Flutter, developers can experience the cost-effective and accessible app development process.
Are you able to get the best out of your cross-platform mobile apps? Nous mobility consultants enable you with mobile app development strategies based on Flutter or other cross-platform frameworks to help you deliver cost-effective, secure, and customized Enterprise Mobility Solutions.
