There is a significant advancement in the landscape of mobile app development. With new platforms and frameworks emerging, it has become easier for developers to meet the ever-increasing demand for high-quality and user-friendly apps for end users. Among these frameworks, Flutter app development has gained a lot of traction. Why? Because it offers a simple, fast, and highly functional UI and scalable way for both Android and iOS mobile app development.
In 2018, Flutter was launched by Google as an open-source software development kit for cross-platform mobile app development. It consists of a rendering engine, APIs for testing and integration, and easy-to-use widgets. Along with these, Flutter also comes with a single codebase and hot reloading, thus allowing developers to make changes to their code and see the results in real-time. Another best part? Individuals with limited programming or development experience can launch their mobile applications quickly. This is without compromising on performance or user experience.
As we reach the end of 2023, let’s understand what are the flutter trends of 2024, we all need to look out for. Additionally, we’ll take a look at the factors that poised Flutter to become the go-to-cross platform framework.
Flutter App Development Trends for 2024: The List
Flutter app development provides you with a set of widgets, animations, and tools that make app development easier and more enjoyable. Let’s figure out what are the top 10 Flutter app development trends that you should watch out for next year:
1. Flutter Web
A project that intends to launch Flutter’s capabilities to the web platform. This will let developers create responsive and interactive web applications using Flutter’s widgets and stateful hot reload. Though still in beta form, it has already been used by some famous websites such as The New York Times and Alibaba.
2. Flutter Desktop
As the name suggests the Flutter Desktop will extend Flutter’s reach to desktop OS such as Windows, Linux, and macOS. Using Flutter Desktop, developers can build desktop applications with native performance and look-and-feel using Flutter’s widgets and plugins. Flutter Desktop is currently in alpha but is projected to mature and support more features and platforms in 2024.
3. Internet of Things (IoT)
In 2024, we can see Flutter app development services being extended to embedded devices such as smart homes, smart cities, or more IoT devices. Flutter apps can control and manage these IoT devices. Developers can create IoT applications with low memory footprint, high performance, and smooth animations using Flutter’s engine and widgets.
4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
These two transformative technologies combined with Flutter can create a major impact on the mobile app development industry. Integrating AI/ML in Flutter can enhance user experience and create personalized apps with features like chatbots and voice assistants.
5. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)
With the capabilities of Flutter, using AR and VR in mobile app development can craft a compelling, interactive, and powerful AR/VR experience for end users. Adding AR/VR to the Flutter app will allow users to superimpose computer-generated images on top of their real-world surroundings, and interact with device-generated environments that feel realistic, and in real-time.
6. On-Demand Apps
Flutter with on-demand apps can create a wave in mobile app development services. Flutter offers a wide range of plugins, expressive UIs, and Dart programming language that tends to make the app run faster, reduce errors, and be more seamless than ever.
7. Null Safety
It makes code more reliable, readable, and maintainable by eliminating the possibility of null dereferences and null-related exceptions. Null Safety was introduced in Dart 2.12 and Flutter 2.0, but it is still optional for existing projects. Null Safety is expected to become the default mode for all new projects in 2024, making it a standard practice for Flutter development.
8. State Restoration
It’s a Flutter feature that helps developers preserve the state of their app across app restarts, system reboots, or configuration changes. In simple terms, users can start the app where they left off despite it being restarted or resumed. State Restoration was first launched in Flutter 1.22, but it is still in the experimental phase and opt-in for existing projects.
9. Animations Plus
A Flutter package that offers some extra widgets and utilities for creating stunning animations with features such as animation controllers, transitions, tweens, curves, and physics. This can make animation creation more fun and expressive. In addition, it was created by a Flutter enthusiast but was not officially launched by the Flutter team.
10. Flutter Community
A collective of Flutter enthusiasts who create and share content, resources, and tools for the Flutter community and help developers across the world. We can expect the community to continue to grow and thrive in 2024, making it a vibrant and supportive network for Flutter developers.
Why Flutter App Development Is the “New” Trend for 2024: 4 Reasons
Let’s understand the reasons why Flutter has gained popularity among developers and businesses. Here are 4 reasons why Flutter is the new mobile app development trend:
- Fast and Easy Development: Flutter uses a “hot reload and hot restart” feature that enables developers to see the changes they make to the code instantly on the app. This can be done without losing the app state or restarting the app, thus saving time and improving productivity. It also comes with a rich set of widgets and tools that make it easier for developers to create engaging and responsive UIs.
- High Performance and Quality: Apps developed using Flutter run on a high-performance rendering engine. This engine uses the same code for both iOS and Android, ensuring consistent and smooth performance cross-devices. Flutter also supports native features and integrations, such as cameras, GPS, sensors, and more to guarantee the apps’ quality and reliability.
- Code Reusability and Scalability: With the feature to reuse the same code for different platforms, Flutter enables developers to reduce the development cost and time. In addition, it also supports web and desktop development, thus it is possible for the development to extend the app to other platforms in the future. Since Flutter apps use a modular and layered architecture to facilitate code management and modification, they are easy to maintain and update as well.
- Fosters Innovation and Creativity: As an open-source framework with a huge and active developer community, Flutter empowers developers to build unique and engaging user experiences with custom widgets and animations. Moreover, its compatibility with Firebase and other third-party services allows the SDLC team to leverage the power of AI, ML, AR, and other emerging technologies.
Flutter App Development: Trends & Market Forecast
Since its launch in 2018, Flutter’s market share has been steadily increasing. In 2019, Flutter accounted for 2% of the market share, which grew to 7% in 2020. As per the projection, Flutter’s market share will reach 14% in 2024. Recently, Statista reported that 39% of developers prefer Flutter over React for mobile application development. Moreover, nearly 2,000,000 developers use Flutter, and 500,000 do it every month, the report revealed.
Wrapping Up
As understood in the blog, Google’s Flutter is a game-changer in the mobile app development landscape! It comes with a huge potential for many top app development companies that work on different platforms with a quick turnaround and go-to-market aspects. Moreover, it helps you save money, resources, and a lot of time. In 2023, we witnessed Flutter app development emerging as the go-to tool for companies, thanks to all the features and capabilities. Additionally, with more enhancements on the way, we can expect Flutter to rule the mobile app development market soon.
This blog projected some of the top Flutter app development treason to keep an eye on in 2024. In addition, we also dive deep into assessing why Flutter remains a strong contender for cross-platform app development. This techno-driven world demands enhanced user experience and reliable and highly functional apps. Moreover, it’s also expecting a faster ready-to-market app with low-cost management. something that makes Flutter’s future look promising. Therefore, as we look forward to the future, one thing is certain: the world of app development with Flutter is full of limitless possibilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Flutter app development primarily relies on the Flutter framework and the Dart programming language. Additionally, developers use various tools, IDEs, and packages to enhance the development process.
Flutter is an open-source UI toolkit by Google, known for its ability to create natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase. Its standout feature includes a rich set of customizable widgets that contribute to a consistent and visually appealing user interface across platforms.
Current trends in Flutter development include increased adoption for cross-platform app development, the growing Flutter community, integration with backend technologies, and the use of Flutter in emerging tech areas like IoT and AR/VR.
