Transform your ideas into an application - cross-platform
May 05, 2022

Transform your ideas into an application - cross-platform

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Flutter, by Google

I am working in the field of service design and therefore often need to work with mobile applications as well. As mobile applications are only one potential touchpoint I am looking at, I am almost always face to consider digital touchpoints in all different forms. While I use other software to quickly prototype these touchpoints, Flutter is my go to framework to transform the designs and ideas into actual applications. I like that it is easy to use, fast, and flexible. It my sound trivial but the hot reload functionality increases my productivity a lot. Even-though, I did not made decision in the first place to use it I am happy that it was chosen. With the open source philosophy and the back up by Google I am confident that I am working on and building a skill that will be valuable for me in the future as well.
  • Hot Reload
  • Open Source and Ecosystem
  • Beautiful UI
  • Cross-Platform Capabilities
  • Self-Help content (Tutorials, YouTube, ...) - really great resources
  • Widget Extension
  • Debugger could be a bit more clearly sometimes
  • Documentation could be a bit more clearly sometimes
  • Capability to deploy code to multiple platforms
  • Availability of tools to automate testing
  • Open Source and Ecosystem (We heavily rely on finding good content online to solve problems we encounter, therefore the community around Flutter is super important)
  • only develop one code base - saves time and money
  • community - helps to solves problems - saves time
I have experience with react and React Native. I would say that the idea behind all those frameworks are quite similar.
However, I found the javascript-based frameworks a bit more accessible as you could utilise your javascript knowledge. Here, Flutter works with its own language. This has advantages and disadvantages sometimes. I found the community around javascript frameworks bigger and therefore sometimes more helpful. However, Flutter does a good job here as well.

I think the main argument for Flutter is its usability for less experienced developers. If you do not have knowledge in javascript or other programming languages then I think it is much easier to start with Flutter than with another framework like react. I think the package that you get form scratch is better than in the other frameworks were you have to set up and learn a lot more before you can start.

Do you think Flutter by Google delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Flutter by Google's feature set?

Yes

Did Flutter by Google live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Flutter by Google go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Flutter by Google again?

Yes

From experience I would recommend to use the Flutter SDK when you want to transform your designs into actual mobile applications. Especially in cases in which you have to deal with different platforms (iOS, Windows, Android) and devices (phone, tablet, desktop) I can recommend Flutter. It saves so much time to only develop once.

If you, however, want to build quick prototypes I would not recommend it. You really have to consider that this is a development framework already. Thus, keep in mind which stage of your development you are in. If you want to prototype there might be faster and quicker alternatives. This obviously depends on your proficiency with the tool but I think in most cases you should only switch to actual development and Flutter if you have your designs and requirements ready.