Creating Responsive UIs with Flutter
In today’s mobile-first world, users expect applications to look and function seamlessly across a wide range of devices — from small phones to large tablets. Flutter, Google’s open-source UI toolkit, makes building responsive user interfaces (UIs) easier and more consistent than ever before. With a single codebase, Flutter enables developers to create visually appealing and adaptive apps for both Android and iOS.
What is a Responsive UI?
A responsive UI adjusts its layout and elements based on the screen size, orientation, and device type. Rather than building separate apps for each device, you design one flexible interface that adapts dynamically.
Flutter achieves this using its flexible widget system, which makes responsiveness easy to implement and manage.
Key Techniques for Responsive UI in Flutter
MediaQuery
MediaQuery provides access to the size and orientation of the screen. It’s often used to make UI elements scale proportionally.
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double screenWidth = MediaQuery.of(context).size.width;
This lets you define conditional layouts like:
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screenWidth > 600 ? LargeLayout() : SmallLayout();
LayoutBuilder
LayoutBuilder is another essential widget that helps you build widgets based on the constraints from the parent widget.
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LayoutBuilder(
builder: (context, constraints) {
if (constraints.maxWidth > 800) {
return WideScreenLayout();
} else {
return NarrowScreenLayout();
}
},
)
Flexible and Expanded Widgets
Use Flexible and Expanded to distribute space within Row and Column. These help in dynamically adjusting widget sizes depending on available space.
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Row(
children: [
Expanded(child: Text('Left')),
Expanded(child: Text('Right')),
],
)
OrientationBuilder
To create different UI designs for landscape and portrait modes, use OrientationBuilder.
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OrientationBuilder(
builder: (context, orientation) {
return orientation == Orientation.portrait
? PortraitLayout()
: LandscapeLayout();
},
)
Best Practices
Keep layouts clean and minimal for better adaptability.
Test on multiple screen sizes using Flutter's built-in device preview.
Use percentage-based sizing instead of fixed pixel sizes.
Final Thoughts
Creating responsive UIs with Flutter is straightforward thanks to its widget-driven architecture. Whether you're building a basic app or a complex enterprise application, responsiveness ensures a better user experience across all devices. By mastering widgets like MediaQuery, LayoutBuilder, and OrientationBuilder, you can create apps that are not just beautiful — but smartly adaptive too.
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Read More:
Building Your First Flutter App
Flutter State Management: SetState vs Provider
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