Flutter vs. React Native: which one to choose?
Flutter vs. React Native: which one to choose?
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For two years now, React Native and Flutter have been the most popular tools for cross-platform software development of mobile apps, and their adoption rate continues to grow and soar above the competition.
Unlike a native development approach, Flutter and React Native allow for creating a single code base that works for both iOS and Android devices. Because it requires less coding, apps can be deployed faster and on a smaller budget. This is one of the main reasons why these two mobile development toolkits have become popular.
In this article, we are going to dive into the universe of these solutions and try the comparison between Flutter and React Native to determine which is better for application development in 2022. We will contrast the pros and cons of React Native to those of Flutter using different criteria. Of course, before that, we will start by presenting each of the two options.
Intro to Flutter
Created by Google, Flutter is free and open-source: Google’s solution is presented as a complete software development kit (SDK) for developing applications with widgets and various additional tools.
As you know, Flutter enables cross-platform app development. It gives developers an easy way to build and deploy visually appealing, natively compiled apps for mobile phones (iOS, Android), the web, and desktops. Desktop, all from a single code.
It is based on Dart, a fast, object-oriented programming language. Released in 2011, Dart is relatively new but easy to learn, especially for experienced developers who already know Java and C#.
Flutter provides its widgets, taken from its high-performance rendering engine: these widgets are fast, attractive, and of course, customizable. Also, these widgets give Flutter apps a nice look and feel they appreciate. Still, you can create your custom app design using readily available UI elements that follow platform-specific guidelines.
Speed
Once you’re able to skip the tedious step that comes with installing Flutter, everything else goes fast: unlike React Native, which uses JavaScript, the Flutter framework uses its programming language, which makes it easy to install. Entire application development process because you don’t need any other third-party gateways.
Support for multiple devices
Flutter ensures the user gets the same interface and features, even if using a smartphone with dated processors or an older version of iOS or Android.
This helps maintain consistency and uniformity in the user experience while ensuring everyone can use these products.
Flutter has a programming language, Dart, explicitly created for it.
Dart is fast and elegant, with a syntax similar to C++, making it a new developer favorite.
Publication
The Flutter platform is designed so that applications created using it are quickly and easily published in online applications such as the Play Store.
Documentation
The platform is also designed so that the documentation of new application programs is done quickly and without difficulty.
Cons of Flutter
Installing Flutter is usually very slow and complex.
To learn more, here are the installation tutorials for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Programming language
Yes, the programming language also the disadvantages.
The language Flutter uses, Dart, is relatively new. Most developers don’t know how it works yet. It is currently quite hard to find developers capable of using Flutter professionally.
Popularity
In the mobile app development market, Flutter is just gaining traction: other platforms like React Native are more popular and widespread, with a larger support community.
Flutter is a recent platform, and although it is open source (and has pre-built libraries), the number of features offered is still limited.
It is, therefore, up to the developer to create libraries from scratch and make them available to the community to help others and fill this gap.
Large file size
Flutter’s file sizes can quickly become huge. Due to its vast size, the app can sometimes become challenging to manage.
This is considered a disadvantage, but it groups several of them because this characteristic could force the developer to turn to another platform that produces more compact files and because an application that is too heavy takes up space on the devices and will tend to idle, especially on older models.
React Native is an idea of ​​Facebook and quickly became popular among developers because it has been around longer than Flutter.
React Native uses the JavaScript programming language. It is popular among social media companies. Tesla and Skype are among its most notable users.
React Native is a framework for cross-platform development, that is, to create applications for Android and iOS using a single code base using the prevalent JavaScript language. Apps built using React Native are not mobile web apps.
React Native uses the same fundamental UI elements as regular iOS and Android apps: instead of building in Java, Kotlin, or Swift, you assemble the same elements using JavaScript and React.
Finally, React Native has components that are similar to Flutter’s widgets.
The advantages of React Native
Popularity
React Native has been around for quite some time and has many users and about 42% of app developers.
Since it is an open-source framework, bugs and other issues can be quickly resolved by asking peer developers. Additionally, developers will be encouraged to share their codes and products and grow the community daily.
Ease of use
Well-known to developers, JavaScript is also quite simple to use. It’s easy to find developers with in-depth knowledge of JavaScript and therefore know how to use it ideally.
Code reuse
This is a handy feature because most functions and codes are similar for iOS and Android platforms. This reduces the time required for the development process, improving the entire system’s efficiency.
Facility
Installing the React Native framework is relatively easy. All you need is a good command of Java.
Support for third-party libraries and plugins
Many third-party libraries with complex functions can be easily imported and used in your application.
This helps reduce development time, and the libraries are tested, so there is minimal risk of creating broken code or buggy applications using them.
Cons of React Native
Speed
React Native is not as fast as its counterpart, Flutter. You will need to go through JavaScript bridges when developing an application.
Version and documentation
React Native follows standard manual procedures for release and documentation. This also makes the process relatively slow.
Learning difficulty
Learning app development can be pretty challenging with React Native, especially for beginners trying their hand at the app development world.
Also, to start using React Native, one needs to have experience developing native apps. React Native is, therefore, not the best option to start your career as an application developer.
Poor memory management
Due to its Javascript-based framework, React Native is not very good regarding memory management. Complex calculations are also handled very inefficiently in React Native.
Therefore, it is not the best framework choice for developing applications required to perform complex tasks.
Low security
The open-source nature of Java also has drawbacks. Since each resource is open to the public, applications developed using React Native are very insecure and can be easily penetrated by another developer.
Thus, when creating applications related to the banking sector, for example, developers avoid using React Native.
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Flutter vs. React Native: which one to choose?
