Google First Stable Release Of 2020 : Flutter 1.17 and Dart 2.8

We are all going through tough times now a days . Google has released first stable version of its cross platform app development : Flutter on May 6, 2020 . Undoubtedly version 1.17 of Flutter SDK has taken longer than usual as Google is actually planning to retooling its complete infrastructure for a new launching procedure .

In addition to it Google has also launched Dart Programming Language version 2.8 to boost capacity of both Flutter and Dart with premium hot fixes .

What's Brand New In Flutter 1.17 ?

Last month , Google has done fee changes in its release procedure , as they believe previous procedure has major lack on clarity of when releases would be made , what code will be present in that and so on and hence it plans for stable release on roughly quarterly cadence .

With latest release of Flutter 1.17 , Google has opened many opportunities and at the same time has closed nearly 6,339 issues which were present in earlier version of Flutter 1.12 .

Also Read : What Is Flutter & Its Pros And Cons ?

1. Metal Support For iOS App

Apple provide low graphics API by Metal . Flutter 1.17 has used API of Apple Metal in order to provide accessibility to GPU of iOS devices rather than by default using of OpenGL . As a result , mobile applications can give quicker and faster result on both iPads and iPhones that support Metal.

Metal support boost speed of iOS apps by almost 50 % on an average on the basis of workload . But if you are still using A7 chip or below or an older iOS version , then OpenGL is the only option .

2.Adding Support For New Material Widgets

Flutter 1.17 also brings more of Google's Material Design . It has added new material widgets as well as provided updates for existing one . For instance say , they have added NavigationRail to this release , which facilitates Flutter app developers to add navigation models to applications .

Navigation widgets is specially designed by Material Design team which is usually shown in left or right of mobile application . NavigationRail is proven awesome feature for apps that is used to swap between desktop and mobile apps .

In addition to it , TextSelection overflow and DatePicker widgets has also been updated to visually new look .

3. Mobile Performance and Size Enhancement

Like other party OS release , this release also has focus on improving memory and performance . App upgraded by this version will facilitate smaller app size , lower memory usage as well as quick animations .

You may find upto 37 % acceleration in your default navigation system . In addition to it , you will also experience almost 40 % abatement in CPU or GPU utilisation in respect to what is done is normal iOS animations , on the basis of their existing hardware .

This release has also bring more than 70 % memory reduction which scrolling through photos which are large in size , which can aid in overall performance improvisation in respect to device memory .

4. Google Fonts For Flutter

We all know how well text and fonts are associated together . New Material Text Scale offer all new Google fonts which facilitates developers to use any fonts directly from fonts.google.com in their mobile applications . Developers while publishing the app will also have option to either pre pack fonts with app package or facilitate user to get it downloaded using API

5. Dart DevTools Port To Flutter

Google is warning himself to roll out present version of Dart DevTools with Flutter 1.17 . Developers can easily test its new version by clicking on top right corner button of DevTools .

The new Network tab facilitates viewing of network traffic of apps based on Flutter , all you need to do it just to click on 'Record' button .

This release also gives quick start option that facilitates developers to debug app upto 70 % quicker , specially when you are developing android mobile app .

6. MGM and Superformula : Customer Shoutout

Superformula and MGM together has made new MGM design language for all mobile and web experiences which can be used with Flutter platform to rebuild and launch the apps on stores quickly .

Also Read : Top Innovative Mobile App Build Using Flutter Framework

What's Exciting In New Dart 2.8 ?

1. Improvement In Pub Tool

In this release , all the focus is towards enhancement on pub client tool which is being used by both Flutter and Dart for handling packages in app . Dart SDK 2.8 use new ' pub outdated ' tool to make sure that all packages and its dependencies are updated which is being used in Pub tool for pub.dev package repository .

2. Adding Support For Null Safety

Google is preparing for Sound null safety in Dart in a way that every expressible variable hold non-null value . In general null sources are main reason behind app crashes which is used to occur which any code attempts to read variables containing null value .

If sound Null safety is executed , it will bring breaking changes to Dart language and libraries . Google wants help of all developers to get themselves aware of that changes in Dart language and libraries and also wants them to report any problem on issue tracker .