With the earth moving more and more towards and getting firmly ensconced in the digital edge, we just cannot think without our mobiles, android mobile to be precise and the relevant apps. In fact, in every aspect of life apps play a stellar role in regulating it. The Apps do not fall from heaven and it is here that cross-platform app development and android app development play a decisive role. With almost every day newer apps are being launched adding to the comfort of the end-users.
It can, therefore, be prudently said that android app development is poised for giant leaps forward. An app developer today has the emancipation to use one single code to develop an app for multiple platforms courtesy cross-platform app development. This helps in developing the app for both android and iOS at a lesser operating cost.
Not long ago, the app developers worked with Flutter or React Native to develop an app until Kotlin came into the scene. App developers, till Kotlin arrived, were depending on Flutter or React Native for Android and iOS but the scenario has changed dramatically now.
Since its launch, Kotlin has made deep inroads into the territories of the competitors rapidly and a study by App Brains reveals that almost 82000 apps are using Kotlin. At the moment the platform is just preceded by JAVA. Big names like Samsung Experience, MS Word and Huawei video player use Kotlin.
Jetbrains had developed Kotlin. It is one of the most reliable platforms and the language used is easily understandable with minimum system failure and hassles.
Flutter mobile app development since its inception in 2015 was very popular and big corporations like Alibaba, New York Times, eBay, Groupon and Square have been using it constantly. Kotlin has an additional feature called Kotlin multi platform.
Flutter |
Kotlin |
More Popular | Less Popular |
Use Dart Programming Language | Use JVM, JavaScript & Native |
Free & Open Source | Free & Open Source |
Excellent Speed | Better in Security syntax & compatibility |
Operating & Development Cost Low | Operating & Development Cost quite High |
Both Kotlin and Flutter mobile app development is equally superb with some distinctions. Kotlin because of its multiplatform can compile the codes and customize it to the best satisfaction of its users as good as the Native apps. Flutter allows reloading functionality thus giving a choice of selection if different elements are performing okay.
The basic advantage of Kotlin is that its programming language is quite similar to Java and developers who have worked with JAVA find it much easier to work. On the other hand, Flutter uses Dart from Google. Although it is rarely used it is easier to understand and operate.
Both Kotlin and Flutter are free of cost but the real difference occurs in testing support. While Kotlin tends to give more support on backend development, Flutter works on wider testing features.
Kotlin multi-platform has a unique distinction of lending a freehand to the UI developer to make an app without restrictions and make a truly customized app. On the other hand, one can take the help of widgets if one is working with Flutter. This also helps in customized solutions.
Both Kotlin and Flutter have their pros and cons as discussed and Kotlin has a better market share. It is totally up to the app developers to pick and choose as to which one will be better for them depending on the ground realities. Kotlin because of its SDK properties one can even work with a single feature and offers an excellent UI experience. On the other hand, because of the lower cost and hot reload functionality is a better option for many.
Jatin Panchal is the Founder & Managing Director at Rlogical Techsoft Pvt. Ltd. For more than a decade, he has been fostering the organization's growth in the IT horizons. He has always bestowed personalized approaches on .NET, PHP, Flutter, and Full-Stack web development projects. From startups to large enterprises, he has empowered them to accomplish business goals. By delivering successful industry-driven solutions, he is encouraging the capability of AI, ML, blockchain, and IoT into custom websites and hybrid mobile applications.