As we all know, recently Google has undergone some layoffs in certain areas, including Flutter. This has caused a certain level of anxiety in many places, and our group is no exception.
If you visit the Google Graveyard, you'll feel more concerned about Flutter than ever before. History shows that Google doesn't hesitate to shut down products indiscriminately. They don't care how many users a product has; if it's not profitable (even non-financially), they'll shut it down immediately. From consumer products like Podcasts and Stadia to enterprise-focused products like Jamboard. And developer products like ours also have a few names that have fallen into oblivion, such as Domains or Optimize. With Domains, it directly affects my livelihood, so personally, I'm extremely dissatisfied and resentful. Of course, I can buy domains from anywhere else, from Vietnam to international sources, but for me, Google Domains is very convenient. Connecting a domain from Google Domains to Firebase HTTP Function is extremely easy and quick, and it automatically links to the Search Console without needing any verification.
Returning to the Flutter story, it's clear that feeling anxious isn't abnormal. However, instead of asking whether Google actually intends to abandon Flutter, you should answer the question: If that happens, what will you do? If it doesn't happen, that's fine, no worries. But if it does, what then? Because even though key figures in the Flutter team confirm that everything will be fine, the plans will continue as usual at the moment, who can guarantee what will happen next year? Honestly, I bet even Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, doesn't know, let alone others.
So, the question should be: 'If one day Flutter ceases to exist, how will things unfold, and how will you respond?'
FIRSTLY, IF GOOGLE ABANDONS FLUTTER, THE COMMUNITY WILL TAKE IT IN.
Clearly, the Flutter community is thriving and shows no signs of stopping. There's no shortage of influential figures. Of course, there might be chaos, stronger factional divisions than now, but at least Flutter will survive for some time.
It's not uncommon for a community to adopt an abandoned product as long as its source code is open. For example, Canonical decided to abandon Unity in favor of GNOME starting from Ubuntu 18.04, but the community didn't let Unity die. Currently, Ubuntu Unity has officially become an Ubuntu Flavor alongside Kubuntu or Lubuntu. Compared to Flutter, Unity is obviously much smaller, but it can still survive thanks to the community's support. So I think Flutter stands a better chance.
SECONDLY, JOBS WILL STILL BE THERE EVEN IF NO ONE ADOPTS FLUTTER.
Certainly, it might be difficult to find positions for developing a new product, but maintaining existing products, with their longevity and large user base, will inevitably require staff. If the 44MB Floppy disk software is still around, then Flutter jobs will still exist, at least for a few years.
THIRDLY, YOUR KNOWLEDGE MIGHT BE TIED TO FLUTTER, BUT YOUR EXPERIENCE IS NOT.
You might have to learn a new framework, but problem-solving will still largely rely on experience. So the question is: are you willing to learn something else? If not Flutter, then something else, as long as you can meet the requirements.
These are some thoughts to share with everyone. I hope that we should only be anxious for a short time, and instead, spend a defined period determining a new direction if that situation arises. If that day never comes, that's great, but if it does, at least you should have some preparation. Also, if you have additional knowledge and experience with platform SDKs like UIKit or Android, there's nothing to fear. Wherever you go, you'll still thrive.
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