Choosing a Development Platform: Why Flutter
DoteTimer was built using the Flutter framework developed by Google. At the time, Flutter was virtually unknown in South Korea. DoteTimer became one of the first apps in the country to be created with this technology. Even major companies like Naver adopted Flutter later, announcing that they had started using it for some of their services only after us.
The Main Advantage of Flutter: One Codebase — Two Appя
The biggest benefit of Flutter was its ability to develop apps for both Android and iOS simultaneously. Previously, code had to be written separately for each platform due to different programming languages. This doubled not only the coding workload but also design, testing, and debugging. Any modification meant double the effort for the team. We had experienced this firsthand when developing one of our previous educational apps. Flutter helped us overcome these limitations and significantly reduced our development time.
The Challenge of Adopting a New Technology
During the platform selection stage, intense discussions broke out among the team. Everyone was used to the traditional method—developing separately for each platform. Then, someone unexpectedly proposed: “Why not learn Flutter and try building with it?” It was a bold move. Google had a history of shutting down platforms that didn’t gain traction, and Flutter at the time wasn’t widely embraced. It had functionality limitations and wasn’t yet used in game development. Sharing a single codebase for Android and iOS still seemed like a radical idea.
Why We Chose Change
Despite the uncertainty, we decided change was necessary. The familiar ways were comfortable, but we recognized they were limiting the growth of both individual developers and the team as a whole. We understood that sticking to old methods wouldn’t allow us to get ahead. To outpace competitors, we needed to be the first to adopt new technologies.
From that day on, we began studying Flutter on our own—through foreign books and online resources. When we completed the development and saw the results, it felt like discovering a new world. Previously, we had to develop each feature twice, and bug fixes had to be made in two separate codebases. Now, one fix was enough for both platforms. This greatly boosted team morale. We were proud to have implemented one of the country’s first features using this new technology.
Pride in the Challenge and Belief in the Future
Choosing Flutter wasn’t just a technical decision—it became a major catalyst for the team’s growth. The experience of quickly learning and applying a new technology built our confidence. Thanks to this, DoteTimer didn’t just leave a mark as an app—it became a project that contributed to the evolution of South Korea’s broader IT ecosystem.
