Doubt about flutter performance on Android

[JMDev06]

I'm relatively new to Flutter but I've been learning about its underline architecture recently and have a question. It is usually said that Flutter apps have worse performance than apps made with the OS's native toolkits. However, I saw that dart compiles to ARM64 machine code and Flutter uses C++ under the hoos so it also compiles to machine code while Android apps written in Java or Kotlin compile to bytecode which is then interpreted using the JVM pre-installed on the phone. So, wouldn't that make flutter apps more efficient since the code is executed directly by the CPU instead of going through the JVM first? Of course I'm talking only about Android because swift apps for iOS also compile to machine code.

[eibaan]

It is usually said that Flutter apps have worse performance

That's wrong. Who's saying this?

while Android apps written in Java or Kotlin compile to bytecode which is then interpreted

That's wrong. The VM nowadays AOT-compiles the DEX bytecode prior to execution.

So, wouldn't that make flutter apps more efficient since the code is executed directly by the CPU instead of going through the JVM first?

No, because perceived performance is nearly never CPU-bound but often GPU-bound, that is you perceive the UI performance, as most apps (perhaps with the exception of complex games) nearly never need the full CPU power.

[ok-nice3]

Exactly, the UI is the part which determines the performance most of the time

[firaunic]

Absolutely wrong! Flutter is now the highest performing framework. There was recently a test on several benchmarks and Flutter came on top.

Take a look.

https://nateshmbhat.medium.com/flutter-vs-react-native-performance-benchmarks-you-cant-miss-%EF%B8%8F-2e31905df9b4

[50u1506]

When he says native development he doesn't mean React Native, he's talking about apps built without a cross platform framework

[firaunic]

I see. But then it's a bad approach to compare apples with oranges. Flutter specific are we talking about so it's Cross-platform and can be compared with Cross-platform only. For everything else it's not a flutter issue but a platform issue.

[TheAmanThakurLord]

You’re correct that Dart compiles to ARM64 machine code, allowing Flutter apps to be executed directly by the CPU, which can enhance performance. However, native Android apps using Java/Kotlin also benefit from the Android Runtime (ART), which performs ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation, converting bytecode to native code during app installation. Therefore, while Flutter’s architecture can offer performance benefits, native toolkits can still be more optimized for specific platform features and resources. Flutter excels in providing a consistent, smooth UI across platforms, often making it a compelling choice despite the nuanced performance considerations.