Google said 1 in 8 new apps on the Google Play Store were created using Flutter.
Flutter is an open-source UI software development kit that works across apps for Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows and Google Fuchsia with one code base.
At Google I/O 2021, the company launched Flutter 2.2, which includes a new payment plugin to add Google Pay on Android and iOS apps as well as new ad formats via the Google Mobile Ads SDK.
Flutter 2.2 also includes a streamlined process to bring apps to desktop operating systems such as Windows, macOS and Linux.
If Flutter 2.0 focused on bridging mobile apps and desktop, web and embedded apps, Flutter 2.2 is aimed at monetization and cloud service integration.
Flutter has become a popular framework for cross-platform developers. WeChat, ByteDance, BMW, SHEIN and Grab are among the enterprises using Flutter.
Updates in Flutter 2.2 include:
Performance improvements with background caching and deferred components for Android. For iOS, Flutter is offering tooling to reduce first-run errors. The DevTools suite has also added memory allocation tracking and third-party tool extensions. Flutter is also being integrated into the developer stack with a new ads SDK and a payment plugin which enables payment for physical goods on both iOS and Android. Expanded support for native interoperability via Dart 2.13, which also no includes support for GitHub Actions and a Docker image for business logic.
Google also said the Flutter platform is also seeing gains from partners including Microsoft, Samsung and Adobe. Microsoft’s Surface team is building foldable experiences in Flutter and has launched an alpha of Flutter support for UWP apps built for Windows 10.
In addition, Samsung is porting Flutter to Tizen and Adobe is offering an XD to Flutter plugin.
