Flutter 1.17 has marked its arrival with some notable updates for App Developers. It is one of the new versions of Flutter and is one of the first stable releases of 2020 by Google. The v1.17 modifications are aimed at bettering the App Development Process for Major Mobile Platforms.
2020 has so far been a challenging year for everyone due to the Corona Crisis. However, some of the positive developments in the Application Creation arena do help to boost our spirits.
Introduction to Flutter
Flutter is one of the renowned Cross-platform Software Development Kit. Developers can use this framework for building apps for a plethora of platforms, including Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS, and Microsoft’s Windows. The Application Development Voyage for Flutter embarked in 2015 with its first version. Numerous developers harness this tool for deploying superlative Native Applications. The most significant benefit offered by Flutter is the ability to model both the Android and the iOS Apps using just a single codebase.
Exploring the New Upgrades in Flutter 1.17!
This contemporary version was released very recently in the first week of May 2020. Let us journey into all the latest revises and advances featured by Flutter 1.17.
Here is the summarised list of the top updates
- Metal Support for iOS Apps
- Availability of Google Fonts
- Size Modifications and Mobile Performance
- Improved Internalization and Accessibility
- Amazing Material Widgets
- Amendments to Hot Reload Function
- Introduction of AndroidX as a Default functionality
- Enhanced Dart DevTools Port
Let us now understand some nuances about these updates.
- Metal Support for iOS Apps
With the backing of Metal, Flutter apps will be able to impress iPhone users with more than 50 Percent Performance Improvements. Flutter v1.17 has Metal as in its default settings for iOS Apps. Metal, as we know, is the official Graphics API of Apple. Now, Flutter users can get access to the GPU of iOS devices directly. There is no further need for an Open GL. Currently, Flutter Apps for iOS, on average, will run at 50 percent more speed. - Availability of Google Fonts
Another thrilling update with v1.17 is the disposal of new and stable Google Fonts 1.0 Plugin. It will enable App Developers to create more attractive apps with a variety of fonts. The Developers can either get a pre-bundled app package or download the fonts from the API before publishing the app for the user. - Size Modifications and Mobile Performance
Flutter 1.17 has put great emphasis on improving memory efficiency and overall Mobile performance. Less space-consuming apps, Quick Animations, less memory usage are some of the benefits delivered by the new version. About a 40 percent decrease in CPU or GPU usage is observed for iOS animations. There is also a rise of about 20-37 percent in the default navigation speed. - Improved Internalization and Accessibility
Google wants to ensure that Developers everywhere can reap the benefits of their innovative Flutter framework. Flutter’s latest version has many Accessibility improvements for input widgets like text fields and scrolling. In the Internalization aspect, Flutter 1.17 has some good news for East Asian Developers as the text input issues in the Samsung Keyboard IMEs have been reduced. - Amazing Material Widgets
Some new and modified widgets have sprung up with this latest edition of Flutter. NavigationRail, DatePicker, and TextSelection are among the updated widgets.
Google’s Design and Material team has added a brand new widget called NavigationRail, which provides a highly receptive navigation model for the apps developed with Flutter 1.17. This widget enables a quick and smooth transition between mobile and desktop versions of the app, with the BottomNavigator varying the app’s screen size.
The DatePicker widget now sports new visual designs to suit the updated Material Guidelines and text input mode.
With the advanced TextSelection menu, there is better fidelity as buttons can be displayed for a higher duration than seen without overflowing. This TextSelection upgrade is excellent for both iOS and Android Apps. - Amendment to Hot Reload Function
Developers were quite agitated with the way Hot Reload used to function earlier in Flutter. If any analysis error was showcased with the app where the error was not in the code, the app was not reloaded by the Hot Reload feature. However, the Hot Reload has been improvised to become more resilient to allow healthy functioning. - Introduction of AndroidX as a default functionality
Android App Developers must note that the AndroidX library is the sole default option for all new Flutter Projects for Android. Now, Android Jetpack is the advanced Android functionality provided by the AndroidX libraries. It is recommended for all existing Application developers who are not using AndroidX to migrate to the new library to access better capabilities in the future. - Enhanced Dart DevTools Port
The new version of Flutter comes with some notable enhancements for the Dart DevTools.
Changes like a new Network tab, which is among the best changes brought to the DevTools in Flutter 1.17. Using the Network tab by pressing the Record button, one can see the network traffic generated for a Flutter application. One can also instantaneously check the network traffic once their app starts using the required specific code line. There is also the availability of a faster-debugging facility for Android Apps, which is 70 Percent faster than earlier Flutter versions.
Conclusion
Since its inception, Flutter has always managed to impress its users with its many distinct capabilities. Over the years, the expert team behind Flutter has fixed more 6300 issues and bugs in the Flutter code. This has led to many improvised versions that have assisted App Developers in creating outstanding applications on leading platforms like Android and iOS.
Flutter 1.17 has surely promised its user community some remarkable new abilities. Our App Development Force at Sysbunny has already begun its action plan to mold itself to the latest Flutter features and make competent cross-platform Apps for our clients.
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