shiva shanker

Posted on Sep 1

Flutter 3.35 Just Broke the Web (In a Good Way)

#flutter #mobile #google #crossplatform

August 2025 update that made me delete my React bookmarks

Flutter web finally doesn't suck. Hot reload works. Widget previews are here. Your PM will love you.

The "Holy Shit" Moment

I've been roasting Flutter web for years. Slow, janky, felt like running a mobile app in a browser because... well, that's exactly what it was.

Flutter 3.35 dropped last week and I hate to admit it, but I was wrong.

What Actually Changed

🔥 Hot Reload on Web (Finally!)

Remember refreshing your browser 847 times a day? Yeah, that's over.

# This now works and keeps your state
flutter run -d chrome
# Make changes, save, boom - updated in < 1 second

Before: Change CSS → F5 → Wait → Lose form data → Cry
Now: Change code → Save → Magic happens → State preserved

Widget Previews = Storybook for Flutter

// preview.dart
@Preview()
Widget myButtonPreview() {
  return MyButton(
    text: "Preview me!",
    onPressed: () {},
  );
}

Run flutter preview and get a browser with all your components side-by-side. Different themes, screen sizes, states - all at once.

Productivity boost: Massive
Setup time: 30 seconds
Chance your designer will actually use it: High

AI That Doesn't Suck

The new MCP Server integration means your AI assistant can:

Fix your RenderFlex overflows automatically
Add packages to pubspec.yaml
Generate boilerplate and fix its own mistakes

I tested this with GitHub Copilot. It literally debugged my widget tree and applied the fix. I just watched.

The Numbers (Because Devs Love Numbers)

Hot reload: Sub-1 second on complex apps
Analysis server: 50% faster
Widget previews: All themes + sizes simultaneously
Breaking changes: About 2 days of migration work
Developer happiness: Through the roof

Migration Reality Check

The Good:

Most breaking changes have automated migration tools
Performance improvements are immediately noticeable
New features work out of the box

The Pain:

Some Material theme changes require manual fixes
A few packages haven't caught up yet
Widget previews are experimental (APIs will change)

Migration time: Plan for 2-3 days, probably finish in 1

Code That Actually Matters

Before (Flutter 3.24):

flutter run -d chrome --web-experimental-hot-reload
# Hope it works 🤞

Now (Flutter 3.35):

flutter run -d chrome
# It just works ✨

Widget Previews Setup:

flutter pub add dev:flutter_preview
flutter preview --port 3000

That's it. No webpack config, no Storybook setup, no existential crisis.

Should You Upgrade?

If you're on Flutter 3.13+: Yes. Do it this weekend.

Starting a new project: Flutter 3.35 should be your default choice unless your CTO has strong opinions about JavaScript.

Coming from React: Give Flutter web a serious look now. The developer experience gap just closed dramatically.

The Controversial Take

Flutter web is now better than React for most business apps. There, I said it.

Consistent UI across all platforms
Single codebase, single team
Performance that actually matters
Tooling that works without 47 config files

Fight me in the comments. 🥊

Quick Start

# Create new project
flutter create my_web_app
cd my_web_app

# Enable web
flutter config --enable-web

# Run with hot reload
flutter run -d chrome

# Set up previews
flutter pub add dev:flutter_preview
mkdir preview
# Add preview files
flutter preview

What's Next?

Embedded IDE previews (VS Code, IntelliJ)
Material/Cupertino libraries becoming standalone packages
Even better performance optimizations

Flutter 3.35 feels like the moment Flutter web grew up. About time.

Upgrade command: flutter upgrade
Time to try it: Right now
Regret level: Zero

What's your experience with Flutter 3.35? Drop your hot takes below 🔥

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