Adobe have for more then a decade developed Flash, and with it enabling richer content to be created and deployed all over the web. Adobe Flash allowed designers and creators to develop more advanced content, reaching well beyond what browsers could do, and what HTML in the past was capable of. HTML has however evolved throughout the years, and long talked about HTML5 has finally started to be implemented all over the web. Adobe seems to realize that the journey for Flash, at least for mobile devices, has run its course and its time to embrace change, or disparate into the shadows of the Internets past.
Today HTML5 is universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively, and this forces Adobe to think about their strategy for the future. HTML5 is currently the best solution for creating and deploying content in a browser across mobile platforms. Since it’s already becoming a standard, Adobe has chosen to end further development of the Flash Player run in the mobile devices browser. They will however continue to provide solutions for known security issues and do minor bug fixes for existing Flash players. Future work with Flash on mobile plattforms will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. The development will end following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook.
Adobe will now continue their work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, and focus more to drive HTML5 innovation further. Adobe Flash will continue to live on in traditional PC browsers with the new Flash Player 11, which the company say will offer 3D-intensive games with “console quality” graphics, all available within a Web browser. Adobe also said it is already working on Flash Player 12 for PCs, along with a round of new exciting features which they say will advance what is possible for delivering high definition entertainment experiences.
“These changes will allow us to increase investment in HTML5 and innovate with Flash where it can have most impact for the industry, including advanced gaming and premium video. Flash Player 11 for PC browsers just introduced dozens of new features, including hardware accelerated 3D graphics for console-quality gaming and premium HD video with content protection. Flash developers can take advantage of these features, and all that our Flash tooling has to offer, to reach more than a billion PCs through their browsers and to package native apps with AIR that run on hundreds of millions of mobile devices through all the popular app stores, including the iTunes App Store, Android Market, Amazon Appstore for Android and BlackBerry App World” say Adobe in their press release.
Apple originally banned the use of third-party tools to create iOS applications, but eventually relented last year to allow Flash conversion tools like Adobe AIR.
