Flutter is a cross-platform open-source mobile SDK with which you can make iOS apps. Although this SDK needs a bit more updates to mature yet so far the trends have already declared it as a popular platform for cross-platform apps. iOS app development has been costlier in fact costliest when comes to app development. Any iphone app development company would charge more for iOS apps majorly because of the tight control of Apple to use the latest models of phones and operating systems, and also because Objective C and Swift programmers are in scarcity and hence are on the higher package. During iOS app development, many times developers encounter limitations and cannot use certain features without going around the problem. All these factors make iOS app development costlier and more challenging.

The Hybrid or cross-platform app development companies provide an easy way out by delivering an app that runs on iOS and Android platforms both with reasonably satisfactory functionality to fulfill the objectives of the business. Flutter app developers are another addition to the list of options businesses now have to get cost-effective app for their ventures.

Ever since Flutter came into the market people have started using it to develop apps that fit in the budget range of the majority of clients, although other platforms like React Native are still more popular and more apps are being developed in these compared to Flutter. So if you are planning to get an app developed in Flutter and not through any iphone app development company you should consider the following crucial points before making a decision.

Fast coding

Flutter uses Dart – an object-oriented programming language that comes with rich widgets along with the facility to create custom widgets. The UI is easy to develop and handle and provides a great look and feel. The hot reload makes developing the app and designing easy and much faster. Developers or designers can make changes in the code and see them straight away without a restart. This facility reduces development time considerably as compared to iOS development and provides more cost-effective app development.

However, the libraries and support of Flutter is rich but it needs more development to fulfill the requirements of native development. If you need a complex and bigger app the developers may need to develop certain functions on their own which can demand more time. The development cost and time increases with the complexity of apps.

Fast apps

Flutter app development dishes out applications that run faster. There are technical reasons why flutter delivers faster apps in which you can scroll down without cutting or breaking. When apps are developed in flutter for iOS the look, feel and speed matches native apps and give user similar experience.

Same app for older phones

Even if you are using an older model of iPhone or iPad, flutter apps work perfectly and as good as these work on latest models. This is one advantage which weighs heavier in favor of flutter development as iphone apps may not function properly on older models. Apple’s strict policy to urge users to keep switching to newer models and OS makes many newly developed apps incompatible. With flutter app development companies can be sure that all types of users whether using an older model or latest are able to access their app.

One code for two platforms

You can use one code for both iOS and android platforms. If you get an app developed specifically for iphone users and in future need its android-version as well, flutter app developers can float android version of app in no time. This saves valuable time and money that gets spent in native iOS app development and then one more time for Android app development.

Flutter is out of nascent stage

As said earlier here flutter is making enviable progress in popularity right from the moment of its launch. It was launched in 2015 but recently the sudden rise in its popularity has brought it in top 30 SDKs used for developing apps. Many experts dedicate the popularity of flutter to growing popularity of other hybrid or cross-platform technologies. It is also an open-source which means development cost is much lesser than other established technologies.

After mentioning all this it is important to understand flip-side of the story. Flutter needs more additions to mature as complete cross-platform mobile SDK. The whole idea of flutter revolves around widgets. It comes with its own widgets and does not use OEM widgets. These widgets look like native to iOS apps Cupertino. The UI is designed by using widgets for buttons, menus, fonts, styling etc. and it also provides facility to create custom widgets.

Flutter uses Dart as programming language and does not need javascript bridge. Flutter app developers need to learn Dart for efficient Flutter app development, though it is easy to learn and master. The size of flutter apps is another major concern. The normal size of flutter app is much higher than native apps. Play store accepts apps not bigger than 10 MB and any flutter app can measure up to 20 MB.

If your app needs to communicate with other devices via Bluetooth flutter development can cost more time and money and even after that you may not get as smooth functionality as native apps provide. Flutter app developers need to develop this feature separately and then add to main flutter app. If your app demands any rare or native functionality developers may need to burn more oil to get this feature accommodated in flutter app, as flutter library still needs some serious enhancements. To solve such problems developers are pushed to go around the problem to find a solution.

Wrap-up

Flutter no doubt may prove as technology for the future but right now it is great for making lighter apps or MVPs. It is certainly getting up to give some serious competition to React Native and other cross-platform technologies. If you need a complex app for iPhones right now it would be advisable to go for native development or choose other hybrid technologies. But if you need fast mobile app development and attractive powerful UI and not any critically important rare or complex functionality you can safely choose Flutter. Now Flutter 1.7 is already available with the latest enhancements and solutions for many initial obstacles.

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Few of the top Smartphone companies are heavily investing to offer consumers Foldable smartphone devices for a better user experience. These phones are already in the market and soon will be available at almost every store. These are believed to be a sure hit if you believe the signals users are sending after using these phones. Before these foldable smartphones are in the hands of every user App developers need to adapt quickly to provide applications that can support new changed screens and other functionalities. App migration is another area where developers would need to focus their minds on if they are not in a position to build a new application altogether.

However, new development may not face as stiff challenges as migration may, but still, there are a few challenges that even developers developing entirely new apps may need to overcome. These challenges can become stiffer for any mobile app development company because smartphone providers are offering devices with different folding options. Take for example Huawei and Samsung. These giants have come up with foldable phones which are already in the market but for an app developer, these are two different conditions for the screen to adjust because of different folding options.

Advantages of foldables

For android developers or custom mobile app development, one of the challenges in foldable phones would be to make the app switch from a single screen to an expanded screen seamlessly. The transition from a single screen to a fully expanded screen and vice versa needs to be seamless without even a flick. This means the app should be able to adapt according to screen size and should possess the intelligence of sensing change in different screen modes.

What makes it a bit more complicated is the different types of foldable options or screens supported by smartphone makers. Samsung is offering a device that has two screens, cover and main, whereas Huawei smartphones are coming with a single screen that can be unfolded to get a tablet-sized display. To overcome this problem all Android SDK provides is a measurement of screen size and adjustment of the display accordingly.

Multi-window

Developers need to put in some extra effort in order to manage multiple apps at the same time in a foldable screen device. The feature of running multiple apps at the same time is already there in Android but it was not introduced for smartphones, this is for large screens like LEDs. Right now android can manage multiple apps at the same time but keeps only one app active and remaining in dormant mode. With foldable phones, users would like to run multiple apps at the same time. With Android 10 SDK managing multiple apps is not a problem and can be managed.

The real problem arises and will need some development effort if these apps access any hardware resource like a camera simultaneously. Managing apps that access hardware resources and run at the same time calls for some changes in development methodology for a flawless user experience.

Resolution factor

To handle fold screens there is a need for different user interfaces. But even after having a different user interface different resolutions of screens that smartphone manufacturers are offering may pose some difficulty. Samsung and Huawei have hit the market with phones that have different resolutions for single and unfolded screens. The aspect ratio can vary from 21:8 to 1:1. Android 10 SDK offers support for a range of screen ratios.

QA of Apps for foldable phones

It is not just developers that are going to face some challenges because of foldable devices. Even quality analysts would need to gear up to test the functionality of apps across different devices offering different screen sizes, resolutions, and folding options. Although there are emulators that can help a tester to check how the app functions over different hardware specifications but to be sure of quality the real testing app should be run on as much variety of devices as possible.

With the arrival of foldable, there is going to be no change in the business logic of apps which actually saves a lot of repeated work for every Android development company. But any custom mobile app development company would need to do plenty of changes in the user interface. The advent of foldable phones is going to increase time and cost for every mobile app development company and eventually for end users. How much change in cost and time can be absorbed by companies and providers will be seen in the future and may even decide how well foldable smartphones venture into the market.

It is not just the cost of development but quality checking is also going to incur more costs while developing apps for foldable. With companies just beginning to launch their new devices in the recent future rush of new models with different options is going to flood the market. Changing models and screen resolutions are going to pose more challenges for developers and eventually for testers. All these are going to make apps costlier.

In the end, the impact of foldable phones is going to increase competition amongst manufacturers and will test app development companies for managing development cost-effectively. However, custom mobile app development is not going to pose any stiff challenge which may bring any substantial change in the process of designing and coding the apps. Experts even view how well app development is going to respond to foldable phones may prove to be deciding factor for the future of foldable phones.

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