The world of App Development is continuously evolving, embracing new technologies and methodologies to create more user-centric and efficient applications. However, they came with higher costs and the need for specialized development teams for each platform.

A significant development in this field is the integration of AI in the process, a step that has proven to streamline mobile app development and enhance output quality. One of the champions of this evolution is Flutterflow, which has now launched its AI assistant, the FlutterFlow AI Gen.

In the past, the decision between developing universal mobile apps or native apps was a difficult one. Universal apps were created using HTML and JavaScript, which often led to subpar performance on mobile devices. On the other hand, native apps, which were separately coded for each platform, provided better performance.

The advent of Flutter, an open-source framework by Google, altered this situation. Today, with frameworks like Ionic, React Native, and Xamarin, developers have a wider range of choices for crafting high-speed mobile apps compatible with multiple platforms. Yet, Flutter, along with its integrated programming language Dart, continues to be a well-received and extensively utilized choice.

In this blog, we are going to be talking all about this update from FlutterFlow, including what it’s all about, the latest features, the pros and cons and even what we can expect from future updates. Let’s dive in!

Introduction to FlutterFlow AI Gen

FlutterFlow has recently come up with some substantial enhancements, including an upgraded AI coding assistant, aimed at redefining the future of app development. FlutterFlow AI Gen is now live and accessible for all users! It is a suite of tools, each serving a specific purpose, and together providing an AI Assistant to accompany you throughout your mobile app development journey.

The impact of AI in the mobile application development process is truly revolutionary. Not only does it bring automation to numerous tasks but also makes the process more efficient, reducing the time taken to develop an app. Furthermore, the accuracy and quality of apps developed with AI assistance are remarkably high, bringing in a new era of superior and user-friendly experience.

Here are some of the coolest features of Flutter AI Gen:

# Page Gen

Gone are the days of starting your UI development from scratch. With the Page Gen feature, all you need to do is describe what you want to build, and AI kickstarts your UI development process. This reduces the time taken in the initial stages of development and provides a head start.

# Schema Gen

The AI assistant also helps you transform your idea into a backend schema within seconds, a process that could otherwise take up a significant portion of your development time. This instant generation allows developers to focus on improving functionality and user experience rather than getting entangled in the intricate backend schema development.

# Component Gen

Component Gen enables you to instantly build reusable app components. This feature is particularly beneficial when you need to use a specific component multiple times across the app. Instead of creating it manually each time, the AI will generate it for you instantly, saving time and effort.

# Theme Gen

Crafting unique and beautiful colour schemes from text descriptions is now effortless with Theme Gen. This is a big step in enhancing the user interface of the app, as a unique and attractive colour scheme goes a long way in retaining users and improving their experience.

# Code Gen

Last, but certainly not least, is the Code Gen feature, your new AI Code Assistant. It is now supercharged with the power of ChatGPT Turbo, designed to generate code for you, ensuring efficient, error-free coding.

These features not only make the cross-platform app development process more efficient but also boost the overall quality and functionality of the applications.

Features of the New Flutter AI Gen

The new update of Flutter provides a ton of features, such as:

# Action on Data Change

In an effort to keep up with the real-time nature of today's applications, FlutterFlow introduces a new feature, Action on Data Change. This feature allows you to trigger actions when data is updated in Firestore. This means you can handle updates to data dynamically – for example, by automatically navigating to a new page when a document field value changes.

To enable this feature, all you need to do is select "On Data Change" on a widget that has a query. This introduces a new level of interactivity in your apps, ensuring that your users are always engaging with the most updated data.

# Enhancing User Experience: Upload Multiple Files

With the objective of enhancing user experience at its core, FlutterFlow has updated the 'Upload File' action to allow users to upload multiple files at once. This feature is particularly beneficial for applications that require users to upload several documents or files, such as during an onboarding KYC flow. It not only saves time for the user but also simplifies the process, reducing the effort required and providing a smooth experience.

# Streamlined Authentication: GitHub Firebase Auth

In a world where users value convenience, providing seamless and hassle-free authentication methods is crucial. Recognizing this, FlutterFlow has now added support for letting your users sign in using their GitHub credentials. This not only provides users with a quick and simple sign-in but also enhances the security of user data.

# Simplifying Widget Management

Managing the widget tree during the cross-platform app development can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to deleting widgets without affecting the child widgets. To address this, FlutterFlow introduces a new Remove Widget feature. By simply selecting a widget and then removing it the parent widget is deleted without affecting the other widgets.

# Embracing Community Interaction

Understanding the value of community interaction and mutual learning, FlutterFlow has launched the new FlutterFlow Community Forum. This upgraded platform provides enhanced features to improve your experience and help you build relationships with the community. With topic-specific forums, an improved search function, a job board, a showcase for displaying apps built using FlutterFlow, enhanced user profiles, and a wishlist for new feature suggestions, the community platform is set to become a hub of learning and growth for FlutterFlow users.

# Developing Robust Apps: Loops in Actions

One of the many steps taken by FlutterFlow to simplify and improve the mobile application development process is the introduction of "while" loops inside actions. This new feature can significantly reduce development time while building more powerful and robust action flows. Developers can now create complex actions without having to repeat code or action sequences, providing a more streamlined and efficient development process.

# Infinite Scrolling for Enhanced User Experience

User experience is paramount in today's app ecosystem. Recognizing this, FlutterFlow extends the support for infinite scroll to PageView, GridView, and StaggeredView widgets. This feature provides a seamless browsing experience for users, especially when viewing large sets of data or images. By loading data progressively as users scroll, the app ensures smooth and efficient performance, enhancing user satisfaction.

# Widget Opacity and Disable Actions

In a step to provide more creative freedom to developers, FlutterFlow introduces the option to define opacity for a widget. This gives a whole new opportunity for developers to experiment with various tools for their apps. Also, in order to use the debugging process, the option to disable an action has been introduced. This simplifies the debugging process by enabling developers to isolate and identify issues in their action flows.

# Perks Program

In a bid to support and encourage developers, FlutterFlow introduces the Perks Program, offering over $50,000 in discounts from partners like Google Cloud, Algolia, and more. This program provides an excellent opportunity for developers to avail of top-quality services at discounted rates, helping them develop better apps while managing their resources efficiently.

Pros and Cons of FlutterFlow AI Gen

While FlutterFlow AI Gen brings a plethora of promising features and enhancements to the app development process, like any technology, it has its pros and cons. Let’s have a look at them.

Pros

• Increased Efficiency: The integration of AI into FlutterFlow brings an unparalleled level of automation and efficiency. The suite of tools in the AI Gen significantly reduces the time and effort required for app development, whether it’s iOS or Android app development, making the process more streamlined and swift.
• Enhanced Quality: The use of AI in coding can enhance the quality of the application, reducing human errors that can lead to bugs or performance issues. The code generated by the AI Gen is efficient, clean, and error-free
• Real-time Data Updates: With features like Action on Data Change, FlutterFlow allows developers to make their applications more dynamic and responsive to real-time changes.
• Simplified Authentication Process: The integration of GitHub Firebase Auth simplifies the user authentication process, offering a more seamless user experience.
• Strong Community Support: With the launch of the FlutterFlow Community Forum, developers can learn from one another, troubleshoot issues, and get the latest updates.

Cons

• Dependence on AI: While AI improves efficiency and reduces the time taken for app development, over-reliance on AI could make developers less hands-on in their work. This could potentially lead to a lack of understanding of intricate details or possible debugging scenarios.
• Limited Creativity: While the AI assistant can generate codes, themes, and components based on descriptions, it may limit the developer's creativity and freedom to some extent.
• Learning Curve: For those not familiar with FlutterFlow, there may be a learning curve to understand the system and make the most of its features. However, the robust community and extensive documentation are there to support newcomers.
• Potential for Over-Complexity: Features like loops in actions, while powerful, could lead to overly complex code if not used wisely. Developers need to be cautious and ensure they are creating maintainable and understandable code.
• Transition and Migration: For developers working on other platforms or raw code, transitioning to or integrating with FlutterFlow could pose some challenges.

Despite these drawbacks, the benefits of FlutterFlow AI Gen are clear. It provides a platform that makes hybrid app development faster, and more efficient, and enhances the overall quality of applications, making it an exciting step forward in the world of cross-platform app development.

Looking Ahead: Upcoming Features

Always striving to improve and enhance, the FlutterFlow team is tirelessly working on introducing new features that will make the platform even more versatile and user-friendly. Some of these upcoming features include directory organization for custom code, setting Splash Screen duration, and hero animations for components. These features promise to make the mobile app development process even more efficient and enjoyable for developers.

To stay updated with the latest features, improvements, and bug fixes, FlutterFlow encourages users to regularly visit the GitHub Issue Tracker. FlutterFlow is committed to making app development an effortless and enjoyable journey for all users. Experience these new features and enhancements today and get ready to redefine the future of app development together!

Also, if you want to build a customizable app using the latest Flutter features, consider hiring our dedicated cross platform app developers at AllianceTek. Being an expert in the industry for several years, we have got the hang of all the nitty-gritty details and we can help you tailor your Flutter framework that works for you. We can work with you, understanding your particular needs and customize the app suitable for your business.