What’s new in Flutter 3.16

Welcome back to the latest Flutter stable release, Flutter 3.16, bringing exciting features and improvements to the framework. In just three months since the last release, the Flutter community has been incredibly active, with 928 pull requests merged by 145 community members, including 40 first-time contributors.

Framework Highlights:

1. Material 3 as Default:

   Flutter 3.16 introduces Material 3 as the new default theme. While previously optional, Material 3 is now set as the default theme, aligning with the latest Material Design spec. Developers can still opt-out, but Material 2 will eventually be deprecated.

2. Impeller Preview for Android:

   This release offers a preview of Impeller on Android, featuring a Vulkan backend. Developers can experiment with Impeller on Vulkan-capable devices, with plans to extend support for more devices in future releases.

3. DevTools Extensions:

   A new DevTools extensions framework allows package authors to build custom tools directly integrated into DevTools. This empowers developers with package-specific debugging tools for a more efficient development experience.

4. TextScaler for Global Text Scale Factor:

   Supporting Android 14's non-linear font scaling, the TextScaler class replaces Text.textScaleFactor, providing improved accessibility for visually impaired users.

5. MatrixTransition Animation:

   The new MatrixTransition widget enables animated transitions with matrix transformations, allowing for creative effects in UI animations.

Engine Improvements:

1. Impeller Performance and Stability:

   The Impeller Vulkan backend has seen significant progress, with improvements in frame rasterization times and text performance. The team has addressed numerous stability and fidelity issues reported by users.

2. Engine Performance Enhancements:

   Engine modifications enhance performance on mobile devices with heterogeneous multiprocessing, optimizing thread affinity for more powerful cores.

Package Ecosystem:

1. Flutter Favorites Reboot:

   The Flutter Ecosystem Committee designates new Flutter Favorites, including flame, flutter_animate, flutter_rust_bridge, riverpod, video_player, macos_ui, and fpdart packages.

2. Casual Games Toolkit Update:

   Flutter launches an updated Casual Games Toolkit, offering genre-specific templates and service integrations to streamline casual game development.

3. DevTools Extensions Framework:

   Package authors can now create custom DevTools extensions for their packages, enhancing the debugging experience for specific use cases.

Conclusion:

Flutter 3.16 is a testament to the vibrant Flutter community's contributions, with a focus on improving developer experiences and expanding capabilities. From Material 3 as the default theme to the Impeller preview on Android and DevTools extensions, this release brings a host of features for developers to explore and leverage in their projects.

For a comprehensive overview of the changes and to upgrade to Flutter 3.16, simply run `flutter upgrade`. Thank you to the Flutter community for their invaluable contributions, making Flutter a robust and innovative toolkit. Stay tuned for more updates in the next release!

#Flutter #2023