Adobe confirms Flash Player mobile is dead

Danny Winokur, VP and GM, interactive development at Adobe, confirms earlier rumors that Flash Player mobile is getting scrapped.

Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook. We will of course continue to provide critical bug fixes and security updates for existing device configurations. We will also allow our source code licensees to continue working on and release their own implementations.

Good for Adobe. Flash, like ActiveX before it, filled holes in the browser HTML was simply incapable of filling on its own -- at the time. But time marches on. Now with Adobe, Google, RIM, et al, no longer wasting time in petty competitive feuds with Apple, HTML 5 can move on further and even faster than before.

Source: Adobe Featured Blogs (opens in new tab)

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

41 Comments

So... whats up with that Adobe ?
It didn't work.
Everybody hates rene
So... whats up with that Adobe ?
If old SJ had only been around to hear this announcement. He would be giving a MASSIVE "told ya so" to the mobile community.
Ding dong the Flash is dead!
queue the music to the Imperial Death March! Dum dum dum da de dum da de dum!
Let hope Apple drop the petty competitive feuds with everyone else too!
I was thinking the same thing myself. Good editorial honesty not mentioning that Rene.
The petty competitive feuds will continue here as long as Rene continues to make them an issue.
So - Rene was responsible for Apple-v-Samsung? Wow, such power.
No... Apple is responsible for the fake lawsuit that is Apple vs Samsung. Photoshopped pics & all.
Like you - I feel that Apple set this legal madness off. They are being almost irrationally possessive about the tablet sector.
Samsung have been provocative, but they did not expect Apple to go ballistic like this.
You are letting Apple off the hook by not including them in the petty competitive feuds here. Let's not forget, Apple let Adobe invest about 16 months of effort in their cross-compilers before changing the developer agreement the Friday before the Monday Adobe was set to launch their CS upgrade. It does not get more petty than that.
Yeah, let the petty behaviour all to Apple.
I love how I can use the harware volume button in my Camera+ app to take pictures, wait what...
Has anyone else here realized yet that that statement makes it sound like they are dumping Flash in order to promote AIR???
Nah... they'll just point out that most of the "new features" Apple provides in their new iOS releasee has been available on Android devices for about two years.
BTW, Flash is still a big part of the web... which an iPhone still can't see.
All that being said, I really have nothing against Apple or iWhatever. I loved my Apple hardware and still believe their mechanical design is second to none. They are not shy in hiring some of the best mechanical design consultants in the world for input.
But Android is my personal preference. I find the experience more complete. Android services both my personal life and my enterprise life, the later of which Apple has a very, very tough time with.
All that needs to happen is for Flash to die on the desktop as well. You either write HTML 5 apps for cross-platform apps or native apps, simple as that.
Be careful what you wish for -- the best thing about Flash (or any plugin, really) is that it gives you one convenient place to turn it all off.
HTML5 is not going to cure idiots of wanting to make idiotic things -- just, as it stands right now, it takes a lot more skill to be annoying in HTML5 than it does in Flash. As the toolkits get easier, we'll see more and more loud, browser-dominating ads done in HTML5, but this time there will not be an easy way to avoid them.
Be careful what you wish for -- the best thing about Flash (or any plugin, really) is that it gives you one convenient place to turn it all off.
HTML5 is not going to cure idiots of wanting to make idiotic things -- just, as it stands right now, it takes a lot more skill to be annoying in HTML5 than it does in Flash. As the toolkits get easier, we'll see more and more loud, browser-dominating ads done in HTML5, but this time there will not be an easy way to avoid them.
Apple change their petty competitive minds only when the threat of government regulation loomed, and it became clear to Apple that banning a flash cross-compiler while allowing UnrealEngine -- which Apple was showcasing -- would not be looked on kindly by regulators.
Apple change their petty competitive minds only when the threat of government regulation loomed, and it became clear to Apple that banning a flash cross-compiler while allowing UnrealEngine -- which Apple was showcasing -- would not be looked on kindly by regulators.
I don't get this reply at all. Android is perfectly fine for some. What's to laugh about there? I used Android for both personal and enterprise use for quite some time. It worked just fine. I use an iPhone now, but it doesn't mean Android somehow became less capable. They are both pretty good platforms each with there own unique strengths.
By the way, it is true that some of the new features in iOS have been in Android for some time, just like some of the features in Android were on iOS before that. It's just the way it is. I'm glad they keep trying to 1-up each other. It means better choices for me down the line.
Flash mobile was garbage anyway, so many things didn't work because they weren't "optimized for mobile" but it was a nice attempt.
It was a reasonable opinion at the time -- Apple was unproven, and Adobe Flash had 95% penetration on the desktop, and a solid reputation (except for their refusal to move to Cocoa, which in retrospect should have been a huge warning sign).
Analysts a) vastly underestimated the iPhone's market impact, and b) overestimated either Adobe's ability and/or their sense of urgency in getting a decent mobile Flash runtime out the door.
The fact that mobile Flash needs an OMGCPU phone, just to play 480p video, without it turning into a slideshow, tells it's own story.
Lawd help you, if you were rocking a mid-low end phone.
The original iPhone, with it's measly CPU and RAM, could play similar video buttery smooth, from the outset, proving that Flash is a bloated, inefficient mess.
Exactly! Like apple ripped off the LG Prada. And the webkit browser, that was originally done in Unix? Yep, some truth for ya.
LG Prada? Really? C'mon, stop trying to make everybody laugh...silly boy!
LG Prada? Really? C'mon, stop trying to make everybody laugh...silly boy!
Yep... Like antennas that need to be surgically handled in order to not drop calls. Battery life that is now mysteriously disappearing & software vulnerabilities that when pointed out by a dev, apple responds like pouting children & accuses the messenger of breaking the rules.
Proper response to all 3...
"Why thank you we will get right on those problems. We so appreciate you pointing out our mistakes."
You do realize that the people you are calling babies are a group of
highly talented people at making billions of dollars, right? Your
personification of Apple Inc. just demonstrates that you lack the
capacity to understand the complexities of running a multi-billllion
dollar company in a half-trillion dollar industry. You personal perception of Apple's attitude towards their mistakes has nothing to do with the actual quality of their products themselves. In fact, Apple provides the best customer service/support to consumers (non-enterprise) which is reflected in their high customer satisfaction ratings. Your arrogance that seeps through your snide remarks to Rene and the other commenters is disgusting.
You do realize that the people you are calling babies are a group of
highly talented people at making billions of dollars, right? Your
personification of Apple Inc. just demonstrates that you lack the
capacity to understand the complexities of running a multi-billllion
dollar company in a half-trillion dollar industry. You personal perception of Apple's attitude towards their mistakes has nothing to do with the actual quality of their products themselves. In fact, Apple provides the best customer service/support to consumers (non-enterprise) which is reflected in their high customer satisfaction ratings. Your arrogance that seeps through your snide remarks to Rene and the other commenters is disgusting.
To the poster below...
Johna,
You mean I sound like the typical apple fanboy/girl? Oh no! Call the internet police I committed a crime for sure. And what of Rene's arrogance over pointing out everyone else's "petty competitive feuds with Apple" and not pointing out apple's on petty attitudes? Nothing to say about that huh?
Oh & just so you understand; I don't hold a greedy, check that, exceptionally greedy corporation's ability to make profits as a mark of distinction or something to look up to. The sheeple are easily pleased & manipulated. As you have so easily proven by labeling me.
To the poster below...
Johna,
You mean I sound like the typical apple fanboy/girl? Oh no! Call the internet police I committed a crime for sure. And what of Rene's arrogance over pointing out everyone else's "petty competitive feuds with Apple" and not pointing out apple's on petty attitudes? Nothing to say about that huh?
Oh & just so you understand; I don't hold a greedy, check that, exceptionally greedy corporation's ability to make profits as a mark of distinction or something to look up to. The sheeple are easily pleased & manipulated. As you have so easily proven by labeling me.
OMG How can i watch if the flash player is not working . I hope apple will definitely found a solution for this problem
This isn't about Apple winning and Android losing. Everyone wins here.
It means that eventually(webmasters permitting), even those with mid-low end phones, can enjoy the kind of smooth video, that iPhone owners have been enjoying since 2007.
This isn't about Apple winning and Android losing. Everyone wins here.
It means that eventually(webmasters permitting), even those with mid-low end phones, can enjoy the kind of smooth video, that iPhone owners have been enjoying since 2007.
Apps have done more damage to the open web -- and will continue to do so -- that Flash ever did.
Install the Photon Browser on your iPhone and iPad to get Flash so you can listen to flash based music players and watch flash based "videos" and call it a day. Flash isn't a big deal any more. Can we move on to HTML 5 now please?
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