Flutter is Coming to Linux

Jul 16, 2020

Google and Canonical have joined forces to bring Flutter to the Linux desktop.

Google’s open-source UI framework for building Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows has added another platform...Linux. And with over 500,000 developers working with Flutter (and over 80,000 apps built with the framework), this could mean a boon for apps on Linux.

But that’s not all. Canonical (the creators and maintainers of Ubuntu) have dedicated developers to the task. In fact, Ken VanDine, Canonical engineering manager, said this of the move:

Canonical is making a significant investment in Flutter by dedicating a team of developers to work alongside Google’s developers to bring the best Flutter experience to the majority of Linux distributions. Canonical will continue to collaborate with Google to further improve Linux support and maintain feature parity with the other supported platforms.

From Google’s end, they’ve done extensive work to the Flutter engine, to better provide a native desktop experience, no matter the operating system.

One aspect of Flutter that makes it especially important for developers is that apps won't need to be built for specific desktops. Using Google’s Dart language, developers can code an application once and it should (thanks to Flutter) work on mobile devices and desktops. And with companies like Google, Capital One, Square, eBay, BMW, and SONOS already working with Flutter...the future certainly looks bright for the Linux desktop.

For more information, check out Canonical’s official announcement.

Related content

  • NEWS

    In the news: LibreOffice 7 Now Available; Microsoft Brings Procmon to Linux; New KDE Slimbook Available; PinePhone Now Offers a Convergence Package; Flutter Is Coming to Linux; and SUSE Rolls Out Service Pack 2 for SLE

  • Ubuntu Software Store Rumored to Replace Gnome Software

    An alternative to GNOME Software has been written, using Flutter, and it’s making enough noise that Canonical is rumored to be considering using it as the default.

  • Ubuntu 23.04 Beta Now Available for General Testing

    Canonical has finally released the beta version of the upcoming Lunar Lobster OS with plenty of GNOME goodness.

  • News

    In the news: TUXEDO OS; Native GPU Driver for Apple Silicon; Linux Kernel 6.0; System76 Skips Pop!_OS 22.10 to Focus on COSMIC Desktop; New Look for System76 Thelio; Ubuntu Software Store Rumored to Replace Gnome Software; and a New Arch-Based Linux Distribution.

  • Welcome

    I’m thinking I won’t plan to drop $1,500 for Google Glass, the sleek augmented reality glasses that will officially go on sale around the end of 2013. By the time you read this, it will be about six months since Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s appearance on TED Talks to tell about a new device called Google Glass. What better time to reflect?

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News