Well, well. It’s not just Microsoft that is looking forward to the launch of Windows 10X, but Google too. The search engine giant has the Flutter UI framework going, and it seeks Microsoft’s help.
Help in not just expanding and improving the platform, but also bringing these apps to all manner of Windows hardware — from the Surface Duo to Xbox, to devices powered by the Windows 10 and Windows 10X operating systems.
You get the drift.
If this is the first time you are hearing about Flutter, it’s an open-source framework similar to the unified UI experience that Microsoft has got going. It is the second most popular such platform, behind React Native and not dissimilar to Xamarin.
It enables developers to create a single user interface across Google services cross-platform. As in, users get to see the same design language used on Chrome, Android, and iOS.
Google formally asked for a collaboration in a Medium post.
Tim Sneath, product manager at Google, said collaborating with Microsoft will ensure a better experience for all involved:
“We’ve been working informally with various contributors to explore different solutions here, and would gladly support a close collaboration with Microsoft to complete a high-quality solution. With the Surface family of devices extended to include Android and Windows, we think Flutter offers Microsoft a compelling platform for building beautiful native experiences that span their entire portfolio.”
How the tables turn!
Google introduced Flutter in 2017, and released version 1.17 of the framework a month ago. The platform itself is thriving, with more than 50,000 apps now using it.
Desktop Flutter apps are still in their infancy, however, as desktop support is still in technical preview in the framework. Which is why the search engine giant believes that with Microsoft’s help, this number can go way higher.
Redmond has not replied to these comments, but the Surface Duo SDK does have support for Flutter.
