Recently, the Google UI framework has declared the release of Flutter 1.7, a smaller version which comprises of support for AndroidX and for upgraded needs of Play Store, many new and improved elements, and an ample number of bug fixes to user-reported problems.

In case you already are on the default stable channel and have Flutter on your system, you can easily overhaul to the version 1.7 just by running the upgrade.

What is new in the Flutter 1.7?

Let’s discuss what is new in the Flutter 1.7 version:

1. Support for 64-Bit Android Apps and AAB (Android App Bundles)

Google Developers shared that every Android app is targeting Android Pie which is going to offer a 64-bit version alongside the 32-bit application version amid the submissions of Play Store effective 1st August 2019.

Taking this into account, the all-new Flutter 1.7 will also bring assistance for developing AAB (Android App Bundles) which meets this condition of 64-bit and 32-bit from just one submission.

2. Support of AndroidX for New Apps

Now Flutter 1.7 supports the AndroidX support library that was launched last year to the Android building platform. AndroidX is developed to enable developers for utilizing the most recent components whereas keeping up with behind compatibility.

Moreover, Google open-sourced it so the Android app developers can keep the latest versions updated.

Since now many packages of Flutter have been upgraded for supporting AndroidX, the team of development took the decision of allowing for building new Flutter projects with AndroidX.

You just need to add the –androidx flag to your project for targeting the support library. All the information for migrating existing projects to AndroidX can be found here.

3. Improvements of New APIs and Widgets

Albeit Flutter’s target is to become an all-inclusive cross-platform app development framework, it is highly focused on assisting different mobile OS.

For this reason, the development team is continuously adding new components and widgets to meet the visions of mobile UI designers and app builders.

Flutter 1.7 is also similar in this regard. A new RangeSlider material value component is also found, which is ideal to fix a range between minimum and maximum values.

Moreover, Android users are going to get updated a SnackBar widget in Flutter apps. In addition to this, widget for Cupertino, iOS also gets updated with enhanced CupertinoDateTimePicker and CupertinoPicker widgets.

Flutter for the first time is going to acquire assistance for game controllers. Albeit presently, it’s quite difficult to write a full-fledged game on Flutter, this still has the possibility.

Developers get informed from this platform design sample on the ways of writing code for elements which adjust to both Android and iOS design languages.

Also, there is a new font feature’s property that helps developers decide some styles for particular fonts. In the Flutter API directory, you can find all the use cases of the property.

4. OpenType Rich Typography Features

The new Flutter 1.7 will also receive a big upgrade with typography assistance. This new version is going to allow mobility professionals to enriching the UI experience with several features of typography like old-style and tabular numbers, slashed zeros, stylistic sets, and so forth. This is how Flutter app development will become more popular in the market.

5. Fixed Almost 1,250 Issues

The all-new Flutter 1.7 version has also brought an active response to user-reported problems. This clearly proves that the framework has already fixed almost 1,250 problems within 2 months.

What’s Missing in Flutter?

Although the aforementioned features make Flutter the best platform for cross-platform app development, still there are some missing components which can bring a considerable effect. Check out these elements below:

1. Assistance for Non-Mobile Platforms

At present, the Flutter UI framework is just focusing on MacOS, iOS, Android, and other such platforms. It doesn’t offer assistance for non-mobile platforms.

2. Efficient System for Bug Management

With constant enhancements in Flutter development, the current bug procedure is sometimes failing to handle triage issues. This is coming up with the urgency of having an appropriate bug and error handling system in Flutter development platform.

How Can You Upgrade Your System To Flutter 1.7?

In case you are not familiar with the Flutter cross-platform app development and don’t know how to update to version 1.7, run the flutter upgrade from the command line.

Flutter 1.7 is also available for new installation in case you need to reinstall the framework or upgrade it manually.