Adobe Flash does not work on any Apple mobile devices. In a video demonstration of the iPad, Apple left a large hole in place of the Flash Player.
Adobe Systems, the software company, said Wednesday that it is killing its Flash for mobile browsers. The company will instead focus its efforts on HTML5 for mobile developers.
In a blog post on the company’s Web site, Danny Winokur, Adobe’s vice president and general manager of interactive development, said, “We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations.” He the company will increase investment in HTML5 and innovate with Flash for advanced gaming and premium video.
Flash has been a sore spot for Adobe over the last several years after Apple refused to allow the software on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Apple contended that Flash was too slow, and HTML5 was the future.
Many developers agreed. Some complained that Flash was too slow on mobile phones and used up too much processing power. They said it slowed other aspects of the phone and in-turn drained some mobile phone batteries. HTML5, which renders videos and animations directly within the browser, has become the platform of choice for many mobile Web developers.
Mr. Winokur said, “HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively. This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms.”
Al Hilwa, an analyst at the research firm IDC, called the announcement by Adobe “a sad moment but a wise adjustment.” In an e-mail message he wrote: “Adobe’s monetization strategy for Flash was through the tools, and so once there was an alternative, Flash no longer appeared to justify the R&D investment.”
Adobe has been slowly creating other HTML5 tools for developers over the last year. In August the company announced Adobe Edge software that enables developers to create animated Web content on devices that do not run Flash.
But Adobe was steadfast in its promotion of Flash. The graphic below shows responses by Adobe to a letter from Apple during the disagreement last year.
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