What are the limitations of Flutter as a cross-platform solution?

Flutter, created by Google, has revolutionized cross-platform application development. Its main advantages make it the choice of developers all over the world.

Thanks to Flutter, you can easily create mobile, web and desktop applications using one source code, which significantly speeds up the development process and reduces costs.

Fast development, performance, cross-platform support, a rich library of widgets and much more make Flutter considered one of the most powerful tools for creating cross-platform applications. But are there any limitations that may affect its versatility?

Larger application size

The first aspect that can be considered a limitation of Flutter is the potentially larger application size compared to native counterparts.

The main reason for this phenomenon is that Flutter comes with a set of libraries and frameworks that are compiled along with the application into native machine code.

In practice, this means that every Flutter application will contain these additional resources, even if they are not fully used by the specific application.

For mobile device users, where storage space and app downloads are important factors, larger app size may be a problem. Larger installation files may take longer to download and take up more space on the user's device.

Particularly in markets where devices with lower memory capacity dominate, such as older smartphone models or devices with less internal memory, larger application sizes may impact the attractiveness and usability of the product. Although larger application size is not an issue for every situation, developers using Flutter should be aware of this aspect and consider optimization strategies to minimize the size.

Example approaches may include carefully selecting the libraries used, avoiding unused features, and minimizing the number of redundant resources in the application. However, despite these challenges, the benefits of building cross-platform apps simultaneously with Flutter usually outweigh these types of limitations.

Restrictions on the availability of specific native features

Another difficulty that developers using Flutter may encounter is the fact that not all solutions from native platforms have been ported to this environment.

Although Flutter offers a wide range of widgets and tools to create attractive and functional applications, there are cases where specific unusual or less popular native features are not directly available.

In practice, this means that developers may encounter situations in which they will have to independently implement certain solutions that are easily available in native platforms such as Android or iOS.

Writing native implementations requires additional time and knowledge of platform-specific technologies, which may be a challenge for developers specializing in Flutter.

Despite these difficulties, it is worth emphasizing that the Flutter community is growing and the number of available plugins and libraries is growing, which increases the chances of finding ready-made solutions to many problems.

However, in the case of specific, unique functionalities, developers must be willing to put in extra work to ensure full compatibility and functionality of their applications across platforms.

Summary

Flutter, as a modern tool for creating cross-platform applications, offers a wide range of advantages that make it an extremely attractive choice for developers. Fast application development, high performance, a wealth of available widgets and multi-platform support are just some of the reasons why Flutter has gained so much popularity.

Although there are some limitations, such as larger application size or the need to implement some specific native features yourself, they are common to all cross-platform technologies. However, in the case of Flutter, the benefits far outweigh these disadvantages.

The ability to create applications for various platforms using one code significantly speeds up the development process and reduces costs, which is extremely valuable in today's changing world of technology.

Thanks to an active community and continuous support from Google, Flutter is developing dynamically, and the number of available plugins and libraries is growing, which makes it easier to deal with potential difficulties. Ultimately, the capabilities that Flutter offers far outweigh its limitations, making it one of the most promising solutions in the cross-platform application market.