iOS (Swift) vs. Flutter: An In-Depth Comparison

iOS (Swift) vs. Flutter: An In-Depth
Comparison
It’s not surprising how iOS app development is getting easier with better tools and
technologies to deal with its intricacies. However, choosing the best technologies can be
tricky.
Are you confused about using the native programming language (Swift) and frameworks for
cross-platform development? We have prepared this in-depth comparison to help you
understand what works better for you.
Considering the popularity of iPhone app development using Swift and cross-platform
development using Flutter or React Native, we decided to compare these technologies.
The major concern is finding the better one from native and cross-platform app development.
Therefore, we will understand various aspects of Swift vs. Flutter one by one. For now, let’s
begin with an introduction about what exactly Swift and Flutter are.

Introduction
It’s better to spend some extra time on research than work with incomplete information.
Before we dive into the comparison, let’s take a sneak-peek into the two technologies - Swift
and Flutter.
What is Swift
Swift is an open-source, general-purpose, compiled, multi-paradigm programming language.
It supports development for iOS, macOS, Linux, watchOS, and other Apple platforms. Swift
is easy to learn.
It offers an interactive and straightforward programming interface because of the expressive
and concise syntaxes. Swift is a fast, type-safe, and modern programming language that
updates itself according to new development trends. It can work with Apple’s Cocoa and
Cocoa Touch frameworks and also supports the existing Objective-C code for Apple’s
development.

What is Flutter
Fluttered is a cross-platform software development SDK powered by Google. Along with iOS
app development, developers can use it for Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Google
Fushia, and more. Flutter uses the Dart programming language for developing Android and
iOS apps.
Most cross-platform development frameworks are looked down on for stability and
performance. However, Flutter was designed with four important pillars in focus - fast,
beautiful, productive, and open-source. For excellent performance, Flutter is one of the best
cross-platform development tools.

Swift vs. Flutter : Best Choice for iOS App Development
Here’s a detailed comparison between native app development using Swift and Flutter
development based on different parameters.
1. Onboarding Process
According to the development project, onboarding involves initial project setup once you hire
dedicated iOS developers. The developers must be familiar with the app development tool
being used.
Flutter uses Xcode and Flutter binary for making an iOS app. However, there are several
other tools like Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, etc, to use based on the requirements. You can
refer to the detailed “getting started” document provided by macOS to prepare the setup for
development.
When developing iOS applications with native tools like Swift, Xcode is used as an IDE. It
comes with a basic iOS app development kit. However, to access Swift programming
language, you will require a macOS machine with Xcode installed on it. Once the basic
requirements are fulfilled, Xcode creates a template code, and developers can start with
their work.

2. Development Time
Time taken to convert an app idea into reality is a major concern for most businesses. Since
this affects your development decisions, comparing tools based on this parameter becomes
essential.
Flutter allows you to determine the development time taken for any app you may be working
on. You simply need to run a code. Generally, developing an iOS app using Flutter takes
more time than it does with Swift. However, Flutter arguably gains speed once the initial
clean builds are done.
The development time taken with Swift can be measured using the Xcode command. Once
you finish developing your app and run the build command from the product menu, the
development time is displayed. When using Swift, a clean build takes approximately 13.334
seconds.
3. App Reloading Time
Flutter’s Hot Reload feature is one of the greatest advantages it offers to iOS app
developers. It takes only a few seconds to update all the changes in your app. Developers
can see the results of changed codes in real-time. This speeds up the development process.
When using Swift, there are various changes like the button names, data, and accessibility.
However, you have to manually ensure that the changes are successfully reflected on the
device or simulator. Additionally, the reloading feature helps you with understanding changes
in real-time.
4. Testing
Even the best iOS apps tend to fail without rigorous testing. Therefore, you must not ignore it
even when choosing development tools for your applications.
Flutter comes with a robust testing framework within its development tool kit. It has helped in
writing cleaner codes since the beginning. It has various other features that allow testing
functionalities and make the unit testing process easier. Flutter follows a reliable, rapid
documentation process at all stages that the developers can depend on.
Being a native iOS app development language, Swift uses XCTest. It’s Apple’s native tool
for testing. It’s an efficient tool that allows various tests, including integration testing,
performance testing, UI testing, and more. Moreover, Apple’s testing tools are updated
regularly to make sure they comply with evolving technologies.
5. Integration
Integration is crucial for speeding up the app development process.

Dart app integration (for Flutter) is done using Nevercode. It makes integration seamless
using Codemagic CI/CD tool. It’s based on continuous integration, making the process
smoother and faster.
Apps written using Swift codes can be integrated with Jenkins through macOS devices with
Xcode. It offers regular and continuous integration, speeding up development.
6. Accessibility
As an iOS app development company, we understand how important it is to consider
several factors before choosing development tools. Accessibility is one of them. Making
apps accessible for users with disabilities is not only ethical but also economical. It will
create the “feel good” factor for your application and add stars during marketing.
Dart documentation (Flutter) recommends using Xcode for adding accessibility features to
an app. However, it lacks any internal support for introducing such features.
Swift uses the iOS native UIKit for adding accessibility features to the apps. This makes
development faster and easier. In this case, Swift overpowers Flutter development.
7. App Size
App size is an important consideration when finalizing tools for your iPhone app
development. Most users are concerned about how much space an app takes up. Since
storage in iPhones is generally limited, you need to make sure that your apps are easy to
download for users.
As we discussed, Flutter uses Dart for iOS app development, and dart apps are generally
larger than any other development tools. Because of the size of the Dart engine, Flutter apps
cannot be smaller than a particular size.
On the contrary, Swift programming language allows you the flexibility for reducing app size
as needed. Thus, Swift can be a perfect choice if app size is your concern.
8. Popularity and Learning Curve
As far as popularity is concerned, we have some information to give you an idea.

A learning curve refers to the ease or difficulty involved in learning an app development tool.
It’s an essential factor to consider when choosing a tech stack for your apps.
When it comes to the learning curve, Flutter wins over the most popular development tools.
It comes with a detailed guide and a set of arranged documentation that can help developers
use it efficiently.
Swift has been in the market since 2014 and comes with a comprehensive guide to
developing native iOS applications. In fact, it requires lesser tools to get started and makes
app development easier than Flutter.
Conclusion
We get it. You must be in a hurry to choose the best development tool. However, it’s
important to understand that this was a comparison between a native programming
language and a cross-platform development framework.
We found many places where Swift was more suitable than Flutter. But the right choice may
vary according to development requirements. We suggest you understand your project well
before making any decisions. We hope the selective points we discussed gave you an idea
about the two development tools.

As an iOS app development company, our experts at Narola Infotech can help you with
robust app development and related decision-making. Feel free to consult us anytime. We
will be happy to offer you the best services.
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iOS (Swift) vs. Flutter: An In-Depth Comparison

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