Flutter: the good, the bad and the ugly

Recently, Flutter has become one of the top choices for creating mobile apps that work on multiple platforms. Created by Google, it offers developers a method to create apps for both iOS and Android using just one set of code. Despite its popularity and user-friendly features, Flutter, like any tool, has both advantages and disadvantages. In this blog, we will analyze the positive, negative, and unpleasant sides of utilizing Flutter for mobile app development.

The Good: Why Developers Love Flutter

1. Single Codebase for Multiple Platforms

Flutter's main attraction lies in its capacity to develop applications for various platforms, including iOS, Android, web, and desktop, all through a shared codebase. This can greatly cut down on the time and money spent on app development, since developers won't have to upkeep multiple codebases for various platforms.

The Flutter framework offers a wide variety of widgets that have the appearance and functionality of native components. This enables developers to create apps that function consistently on all platforms. Furthermore, the hot reload capability allows for immediate app updates as the developer works, increasing efficiency and streamlining the development process.

2. High-Performance Apps

Flutter applications provide excellent performance right from the start. Contrary to other cross-platform frameworks that rely on bridges to communicate with native code, Flutter uses the Skia graphics engine to directly display all elements. This indicates that Flutter apps are converted to native ARM code, resulting in speedy performance.

Flutter's performance closely matches that of native apps, making it a top choice for developers aiming to create high-performance applications without sacrificing quality.

3. Great for UI/UX Design

When it comes to designing unique user interfaces, Flutter is exceptional. The framework allows developers to have total control over the UI, enabling them to craft detailed, attractive, and extremely customizable designs. Unlike other frameworks that use the UI components provided by the platform, Flutter enables you to build widgets from the ground up.

Designers have the freedom to explore different layouts, transitions, and effects without being limited by platform restrictions. Moreover, Flutter offers thorough documentation and ready-made widgets to assist developers in seamlessly integrating personalized UI components.

4. Growing Ecosystem and Community

Flutter has a growing ecosystem that encompasses packages and plugins for a wide range of functions, from network requests to image loading. The Flutter community has expanded greatly, thanks to Google consistently putting out updates and tools that make development easier. Currently, the Flutter community is highly engaged, with a wide array of resources available online such as tutorials and discussions, helping developers easily address any issues they may encounter.

5. Strong Backing by Google

Having support from Google, Flutter has solid backing. The technology company keeps pouring significant resources into the framework's progress, and it is extensively utilized in Google's own services such as Google Ads and Google Assistant. This provides Flutter with an advantage in terms of stability and ensuring future compatibility.

The Bad: Limitations of Flutter

Even though Flutter has numerous advantages, it does have its constraints.

1. Limited Access to Native Features

Despite its potential for offering performance similar to that of native apps, Flutter encounters difficulties in accessing some native platform functions. Even though Flutter offers a wide range of plugins for utilizing native device functionalities such as camera, GPS, and sensors, certain intricate or platform-specific features may not be fully supported.

To implement certain features, developers might have to write code that is specific to each platform in Swift or Kotlin, which diminishes the benefit of utilizing a unified codebase. While Google has improved its support for additional built-in functionalities, developers should still take this into account when selecting Flutter.

2. Larger App Size

Flutter applications are recognized for their bigger file size in comparison to native applications. This is mainly due to the fact that the framework incorporates the Flutter engine and other essential dependencies directly into the app bundle, leading to larger binary sizes.

This may be a worry for developers creating apps with many assets or striving for smaller app sizes. Individuals who have a small amount of storage on their devices may not be interested in larger app sizes.

3. Learning Curve for New Developers

Despite Dart being the main programming language used in Flutter, developers who are new to mobile app development or are not acquainted with Dart may still face a learning curve, even if they have experience in JavaScript. Some developers may find Dart less commonly used and not as popular as JavaScript, Swift, or Kotlin, so they may struggle with the initial learning process.

Developers familiar with native Android or iOS development may need some time to adapt to the way Flutter handles widgets, state management, and other framework-specific concepts, despite its well-designed architecture.

4. Lack of Some Platform-Specific APIs

While Flutter offers a wide range of plugins for accessing native APIs, there could still be situations where platform-specific APIs are not accessible. In these situations, you will have to create platform channels for interaction with native code, which can result in complications.

Developers focusing on platforms with unique features like Apple's ARKit or Android’s advanced camera features might find that Flutter lacks seamless support for certain advanced functionalities. Although plugin support is getting better, it is still important to consider when utilizing Flutter for advanced app development.

The Ugly: Challenges with Flutter

Although Flutter has numerous benefits, certain obstacles must be tackled in order to enhance its performance and user-friendliness.

1. Limited iOS Integration and Support

Despite its excellent Android support, Flutter's iOS support still has some rough edges. For instance, when it comes to building apps with intricate iOS-specific designs or using Apple’s proprietary features, Flutter may fall short compared to other frameworks like Swift.

Furthermore, the rendering engine of Flutter may exhibit varying behavior on different platforms. Occasionally, iOS-specific features or behaviors may not display properly, requiring extra adjustments or code specifically for that platform.

2. Maturity of the Ecosystem

Even as the Flutter ecosystem expands, it does not yet have the maturity and strength of well-established frameworks such as React Native. Certain developers have faced challenges with support for third-party packages, lengthy update cycles, and inadequate documentation for specific packages. Even though Flutter's ecosystem is growing quickly, it still doesn't have as many resources as more established frameworks.

3. No WebView Support for Native Views

At present, Flutter does not have built-in support for WebView to integrate native views or interact with websites within your application. This poses a significant challenge for developers who require integrating web content into mobile applications.

Workarounds have been created to address this problem, however, Flutter does not have built-in support for embedding WebViews like other frameworks. As mobile app content expands, the gap may widen further with the increasing amount of web-based content.

4. UI Components Not Fully Native

Flutter’s UI components are often not 100% native, which can lead to subtle differences between the look and feel of a Flutter app and a native app. While Flutter’s widgets do a good job of mimicking the native look, it’s not always perfect. For apps that need exact native fidelity, this could be a drawback.

5. Platform Fragmentation

Even though Flutter is compatible with multiple platforms, developers still need to conduct comprehensive testing on both iOS and Android for their apps. Varying platform behaviors like memory management, multitasking, and background execution can lead to bugs or performance problems. Despite its goal of consolidating code, Flutter still presents a challenge with platform fragmentation that developers need to address.

Conclusion: Is Flutter Worth It?

Flutter is a very powerful framework and is a great option for mobile app development in many scenarios. Young, tech-savvy developers and businesses are drawn to its appeal for quickly reaching a larger audience by developing high-performance apps with a single codebase and impressive UI features.

However, as with any technology, it’s essential to weigh the good, bad, and ugly aspects of Flutter before making a decision. The framework demonstrates exceptional performance, flexibility, and user interface design, though it may encounter challenges with platform-specific functionalities, extensive app sizes, and ecosystem development. In the end, Flutter can be a valuable asset for developers, but knowing its limitations is essential for maximizing its potential.

In the appropriate setting, Flutter provides a good mix of performance, flexibility, and simplicity, which makes it a suitable choice for numerous mobile applications. Whether or not it is suitable for you depends on your project needs, abilities, and goals in development.