Google released version 3.7 of its cross-platform development framework, Flutter, on January 25, 2023. This new update includes support for custom menu bars on desktop platforms and a beta preview of a new rendering engine that will be used in iOS apps. Additionally, the company unveiled an alpha preview of Dart 3, the latest innovation in the programming language used with Flutter to create more efficient mobile applications. Developers can now use Flutter 3.7 to develop menu bars as well as cascading context menus.

They now have access to various menu item widgets, such as MenuItemButton and SubmenuButton, which make it easy to design custom menus. In the new Flutter 3.7, you can find many improved framework features. Additionally, new tools have been added to better support internationalization, making it easier for developers to work with different languages and cultures. New debugging tools are also available, which makes troubleshooting code issues easier.

About the new Flutter 3.7

Flutter is a cross-platform mobile and desktop application development platform that uses Dart as its programming language. The newest release of Flutter 3.7 has bought in some excellent features and improvements to the last Flutter. It also includes support for macOS menus and context menus. Currently, Flutter 3.7 is available, and you can upgrade it with $ flutter upgrade. In addition, the Flutter team has been working on a new rendering solution for some time now, and they’ve finally got it ready for developers to test with their iOS apps. Called “Impeller,” this technology is currently getting developed and is significantly advanced enough to be used in applications.

The Dart 3 alpha introduced new features, such as sound null safety, which changed the type system of the project. Developers must change their codebase to take advantage of these new features. Above all, Google has also confirmed that they continue refining features such as global selection, faster rendering using Impeller, performance, DevTools, etc.

Some of the important new updates of Flutter 3.7

Enhanced updated for Material 3 Support

A new enhanced Material 3, with new widgets, has been added to the Flutter framework. Plus, old widgets have been updated to enhance and take advantage of Material 3’s capabilities. Generally speaking, there is more content that you can now use in Material 3.

A FlexColorScheme Package has been added to the Material 3 library with multiple pre-built themes. You can customize these designs to match your needs and copy the code to use in your app. The new design choices offered by Material 3 provide a fresh perspective on some of the elements available in previous versions of this software. You will need to set the useMaterial3 property for including or using all these new features in Flutter 3.7.

The following widgets have been updated or added newly to Material 3.

• Badge
• BottomAppBar
• Slider
• Segmented Button
• Checkbox
• Menus
• Dropdown Menu
• Drawer and Navigation Drawer
• Progress Indicator
• Radio buttons
• SnackBar
• Divider
• Text Fields and Input Decorator
• Banner

Major updates in Dart – Dart 3

Dart 3 is considered a major release in Flutter, which will be available around mid-2023. Compared with the previous versions of Dart, this one is sure to be a more productive, portable, and approachable option. Since it is not available, you can enjoy its early alpha version, Dart 3A. The Dart 3 platform will support pattern matching, a highly demanded feature that was not possible in the past. You’ll need the function to return multiple values and types, which wasn’t possible before. With Dart 3, you can now use a new built-in collection type called records. It allows for more flexible handling of data as it can be returned on a list tuple instead of just one value like before.

Updates in menu bars along with cascading menus

The new version of Flutter allows you to create menu bars along with cascading context menus. To develop a menu bar for macOS, you can use the PlatformMenuBar widget. This widget helps define platform-native menu bars which is rendered by macOS instead of using Flutter. In addition, you can create menus that cascade from one user interface element to another on all platforms, making it easy to organize and customize your content. Menu items can be custom widgets or new menu item widgets –Menu Item Button or Submenu Button, which makes them easier to use and modify.

Impeller Preview

The new graphics rendering engine – Impeller, is one of the most exciting additions in the new Flutter 3.7. With the new Impeller, Flutter has a viable alternative to Skia. Its performance is likely on par with or even better than Skia for most apps, and it handles many rare cases correctly. In addition, the stable release of iOS will include the Impeller as the default renderer, making development much smoother overall.

Despite meeting the rendering needs of most existing Flutter apps on iOS, there are still some API gaps in Impeller. They have also suggested filing issues if you find any minor visual differences while rendering between Skia and Impeller. Even though Flutter has made significant progress in building the Vulkan backend for Impeller, the team is still working on supporting Android devices. At this time, preview releases of Impeller do not include support for desktop or web browsers. But is estimated to be made available in Future updates.

Custom Fragment Shaders – support and improvements

The new release adds numerous improvements to Flutter’s support for custom fragment shaders. This noteworthy update allows you to add enthusiastic effects to your apps, bringing them one step closer to achieving a truly user-friendly experience. In addition, the Flutter SDK now compiles the GLSL shader listed in the pubspec.yaml file into the correct backend-specific format, which is useful for developing on different platforms. Finally, custom shaders are also supported by both Skia and Impeller backends on IOS (mobile devices).

Conclusion

All this information shows that Flutter 3.7 update has introduced and is introducing several features and enhancements. All these improvements are making things easier for developers to create high-quality apps. The newest additions, like Dart 3, are sure to simplify testing and iteration on code. At the same time, new updates regarding accessibility, localization, and performance will ensure the wide range of usability of apps made in Flutter. Thus, Flutter 3.7 is a significant update for the framework, which developers should take advantage of to improve their apps. You can preferably hire Flutter developers to improve your apps in the most optimum way possible.