Eugene Saturow Head of Flutter

• Flutter

November 3, 2022 4 min read

Flutter Power for Video Chat Apps Development

With the evolution of cross-platform technologies, the demand for Flutter video chat app development is rapidly growing. The COVID-19 pandemic made remote working and online calls a new normal, triggering a boom in video chat software. The world’s video conferencing market is predicted to rise from $6.03 billion in 2021 to $9.43 billion in 2026, progressing at a CAGR of 9.3%. As of today, video conferencing is the most utilized type of business software. 

In this article, we will consider how to make a video chatting app. You will also learn how Flutter can help you cut costs by 30–40% while saving quality and reducing time to market (TTM). 

The challenges of making Flutter video chat applications

Video chat apps development has certain challenges. Engineers have to provide high availability, fault tolerance, and performance, so that users can seamlessly interact with the product even during peak loads. 

Additionally, video has to be transmitted in at least HD quality while sound should be loud and clear. Surely, this mainly depends on bandwidth but IT experts need to optimize real-time connection. When building a Flutter video calling application, it is also crucial to ensure data security and privacy. 

Top 6 video chat app features  

1. Sing in/up

Sing in/up is among the key product features. It is especially important for active customers, as having to fill out personal information each time joining a conference may be quite irritating. 

When implementing this functionality, it is essential to provide various ways to sign in/up, for example, via email, phone number, and social media accounts. To improve the engagement of occasional users, you should make registration optional. 

2. Contact list

Contact list is a must-have feature of a video calling application. In fact, it has two components. First, users should be able to find other people by real names, nicknames, and phone numbers. Second, it is crucial to integrate the solution with a user phonebook for importing the existing contacts into the app. The product has to ask for permission to access the phonebook.

3. Video/audio calls

Video calling is the core of online conferencing software. It is essential to enable group calls, so that users can organize meetings, online parties, and conversations. If you aim to create a solution for business or education, the application should support no less than 40 members. 

On top of that, engineers should provide the possibility to add people to the call, mute/unmute microphones, and ban users. It is also important to allow for making audio calls, since users may not have access to their cameras.

4. Text messaging

Text messages are among the main features of a Flutter video chat app. In some cases, users may not need to make a call. Furthermore, they should have the possibility to interact in chats without interrupting speakers. To boost customer satisfaction, it is advisable to enable file sharing and add emojis.

5. Screen sharing

By allowing users to share their screens during calls, you will significantly facilitate remote collaboration and improve communication. 

6. Push notifications

Users should be automatically informed about incoming/missed calls and messages. To implement push notifications, programmers can use a third-party API, for instance, Firebase. 

Flutter for video calling app development

Released and maintained by Google, Flutter is a cross-platform software development kit (SDK), using which programmers can create digital solutions for different OS that include iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Employing the SDK, you can cut down expenses by 30–40% in comparison with native development. The technology has numerous valuable tools and components to achieve almost a native-like user experience (UX) and fast performance. What’s more, the framework is suited for building not only mobile but also web solutions. Explore Flutter benefits for web development.

Final words

Flutter video chat app development offers multiple advantages, from time and cost savings to ensuring almost a native-like UX and stable performance. Many startups and enterprises have already chosen the framework to make video chat software, for example, Adherer, Whatifi, Tele Hail, Dream Live, HighSide, Enigma Chat, and Valkyrie. Let’s get down to creating yours, the most successful one!