Skip to main content

Google’s design elements may be coming to a lot more apps in the near future

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Have you ever heard about an interesting new app you’d like to download, only to learn it isn’t available for your mobile operating system? Or maybe there is a version of the app for your OS, but it’s just not as good (Snapchat for Android might come to mind). If you’ve experienced either of these moments, there’s a good reason: Android and iOS apps are written in different programming languages, which means developers have to start essentially from scratch when they recreate their app for a new platform or risk compromising on performance. Several companies have produced tools to help address this issue including Microsoft (Xamarin) and Facebook (React Native), but there’s always room for improvement — and that’s just what Google is promising with the public release of Flutter 1.0.

Flutter has been around in various beta iterations since 2015, but as of today, it is declaring itself a fully-fledged and mature open source engine for cross-platform mobile development, which means we can expect to see its influence on many more apps in the future.

Recommended Videos

To begin with, we can expect to see Material design elements. Material is Google’s design ethos favoring a minimal, white, and rounded look. The company is in the process of rolling out the latest version of Material across the majority of its products, so you’re probably familiar with it and have already decided whether you’re a fan or not. Some call it elegant, others prefer a little more color and texture, but either way, app developers that use Flutter will be given all the tools to enable “the ultimate realization of Material Design.”

We might also see a little more diversity in how apps created by Flutter look and feel. Google’s engine promises to allow designers more precision in creating apps. The engine lets designers control every pixel on the screen, and there are fewer limitations on where and how they can overlay and animate graphics, video, text, and controls. So far, these user interface capabilities have earned good reviews from those in the development communities, so hopefully we can expect fewer cookie cutter, more boundary-pushing design choices from apps made with Flutter.

Performance is a major selling point for Flutter, too. The engine is powered by the same Skia 2D graphics engine that powers Chrome and Android, and Google has optimized graphics to run at the native speed of your device, so graphics performance should be impressively smooth in Flutter apps.

One benefit for developers is stateful hot reload, a capability that lets them make changes to their app and see results instantly without restarting the app. While this doesn’t directly affect consumers, if it substantially reduces development time, it could have an interesting effect on the proliferation of apps in the marketplace.

Ultimately, it’s still a bit early to say what effects Flutter will have for consumers. For one thing, it needs to gain popularity with developers — currently, React Native (the engine behind Instagram, Airbnb, and UberEats, among others) has it soundly beat in terms of market and community support, but that could very well change now that Flutter is public. There’s also no doubt that Material Design elements are a major boon to the Android development community, making it easier than ever to mimic that operating system’s distinctive style..

Rose Behar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rose is a contributor at Digital Trends, with a focus on Android. Her work also appears on Android Police and MobileSyrup. In…
This is my favorite weather app of 2024
AccuWeather app on iPhone.

We’ve already told you what the best weather apps are this year. After reviewing that list, I was tasked with finding my personal favorite weather app. While this sounds simple enough, it actually isn’t once you decide which features you want beyond the basics, like current and weekly weather information.

There are so many excellent weather apps available in 2024, but after sifting through numerous ones, I've officially settled on my favorite of the year.
Key features to look for in a weather app

Read more
The best hurricane trackers for Android and iOS in 2024
Best hurricane tracking apps.

The hurricane season instills fear in those who find themselves in the paths of these storms, and in their loved ones who are concerned for their safety. A hurricane app is essential if you’ve stayed up all night worrying about a family member who's alone during a destructive storm.

Many hurricane trackers are available to help you prepare for these dangerous events, monitor their progress, and assist in recovery. We’ve compiled a list of the best apps for tracking storms, predicting their paths, and providing on-the-ground suggetsions for shelters and emergency services. Most of these apps are free to download and supported by ads. Premium versions are available to remove ads and add extra features.

Read more
Gmail app’s latest updates are all about reading less, doing more
Updated Summary Cards in Gmail.

The Gmail experience on mobile devices is about to get better for a lot of users. Remember Summary Cards, a feature that picks up useful information from an email and presents it in the form of a neat card atop an email?

So far, summary cards have provided details related to package tracking or viewing order details picked up from the information present in an email. Now, Google is adding contextual action buttons to these summary cards.

Read more