Google LLC today pushed out a major update for its cross-platform mobile application software development framework Flutter.

Flutter provides developers with a simple mobile user interface for building apps that work with both Android and iOS. With it, developers can build “native” mobile apps for both operating systems much faster than was previously possible. The framework is said to be particularly useful for building the interfaces of software apps, using the Dart programming language to compile source code in the native formats used in Android and iOS.

The main benefit of Flutter is it helps to alleviate one of the most significant headaches around software delivery, Holger Mueller, an analyst with Constellation Research Inc. who covers next-generation applications, told SiliconANGLE. Previously, developers always had to choose between compromising with browser-based apps that can run on both Android and iOS, or “go native” and deal with potential maintenance, DevOps and quality assurance challenges, he noted.

Many of the updates in Flutter 1.2 are focused on stability and performance, but there’s an interesting addition in the shape of support for Android App Bundles. This feature was added due to user demand, and helps developers to reduce the size of their apps. It also enables “dynamic delivery,” which involves generating and serving optimized APK files for each user’s device, so they only need to download the code and resources necessary to run each app.

Flutter 1.2 also adds support for in-app purchases, as well as a new debugging tool called Dart DevTools, which is a browser-based app that lets developers inspect widgets, view logs and debug their apps from the same interface.

Google said it wants to turn Dart DevTools into a first-class unified tool for Flutter developers. The eventual plan is to build it directly into tools such as Visual Studio Code, Google’s Flutter team said in a blog post.

Also noteworthy is that Google is accelerating its plans to transform Flutter into a tool for building web-based apps too. The 1.2 release adds new features to enable this, including keyboard events and mouse hover support. Google also said that Project Hummingbird, an initiative that aims to bring Flutter to the web, will become available as a technical preview within the next few months.

“As long as they work and performance is not compromised, [frameworks such as Flutter] are a very effective way for enterprises to build mobile next-generation apps,” Mueller said. “It’s nice to see Flutter’s plans for desktop as well as browser support, which would make it a true cross-platform development tool.”

Image: Google