Adobe Discontinues Development of Flash Player on Mobile Devices

MacRumors · Nov 9, 2011, 12:20 AM

ZDNet is reporting that Adobe has announced to its partners that the company has discontinued development on Flash Player for mobile browsers. The news comes roughly a year and a half after the publication of Steve Jobs' "Thoughts on Flash" open letter, laying out his thoughts on the use of Flash in mobile devices and explaining why Apple would not support Flash on their mobile devices.

Instead of working on mobile Flash, Adobe plans to continue developing its tools to produce applications that work on mobile app stores, including Apple's App Store.

From Adobe's announcement:

Quote:

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 adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our source code licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations. We will continue to support the current Android and PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates.

ZDNet notes that the announcement should go public on Adobe's website in the next day.

Update: The complete announcement has now been posted to Adobe's site.

Article Link: Adobe Discontinues Development of Flash Player on Mobile Devices

jasheeky · Nov 9, 2011, 12:22 AM

Apple killed flash.

FrankieTDouglas · Nov 9, 2011, 12:23 AM

That's a shame.

B777Forevar · Nov 9, 2011, 12:23 AM

Good.
Flash sucks anyway regardless on any device.
And this is comming from a iPhone and Android user.

adder7712 · Nov 9, 2011, 12:24 AM

So, will Flash be taken down from the Android Marketplace?

Stridder44 · Nov 9, 2011, 12:24 AM

Wow! I wasn't expecting this to happen!

haruhiko · Nov 9, 2011, 12:25 AM

Hahahahahaha Adobe....are you kidding? Then how can Samsung sell their phones anymore?

iLilana · Nov 9, 2011, 12:26 AM

now maybe they'll try and make something new and innovative and easier on batteries and stuff

Mr. Gates · Nov 9, 2011, 12:27 AM

Too Bad.

But I think there is hope yet for a re refocused and re imagined FLASH for Mobile.

Its not dead, they just need to regroup and think it out. And thats good

HONDAxACURA · Nov 9, 2011, 12:28 AM

I use an Android, and I do agree flash sucks. However, I do want a tablet to run flash. With this news, I'm not sure I want a tablet anymore, specifically Android tablet.

In any case, flash+touch screen, NOT SO GOOD.... Annoying really.

gugy · Nov 9, 2011, 12:29 AM

bye, bye Flash.

ppc_michael · Nov 9, 2011, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adder7712

So, will Flash be taken down from the Android Marketplace?

No, the announcement states they'll continue to support the current version for Android.

isopepper · Nov 9, 2011, 12:29 AM

Don't need floppy, got CD.
Don't need PS2/Serial, got USB.
Don't need expansion, got Firewire/Thunderbolt.

So many choices were right.

Don't need Flash, got HTML5.

So, now Adobe has given up and is doing the next best thing from their perspective - translating Flash apps for the medium. Good choice.

jacobo007 · Nov 9, 2011, 12:31 AM

Steve Jobs, April 2010

"....Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it. Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?"

ThomasJL · Nov 9, 2011, 12:33 AM

Good. Now if only Adobe would discontinue development on personal computer Flash...

mdriftmeyer · Nov 9, 2011, 12:34 AM

Great purchase their Adobe. That 4+ Billion for Macromedia sure is working out.

Apple buys NeXT for $463 Million and turns a dead relic into the juggernaut it is now, all in just over 14 years.

iRobby · Nov 9, 2011, 12:37 AM

Does this mean that Flash is going to be defunct and the standard video will be HTML5?

godknows · Nov 9, 2011, 12:39 AM

I'd say they better come up with a Flash killer quick before someone else does.

There is certainly a kinda similar market with Google pushing Dart and other things Javascript cannot yet achieve.

eagandale4114 · Nov 9, 2011, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer

Great purchase their Adobe. That 4+ Billion for Macromedia sure is working out.

Apple buys NeXT for $463 Million and turns a dead relic into the juggernaut it is now, all in just over 14 years.

Im sure macromedia saw their work flash before their eyes. This will create shockwaves. Many android adverts are going to become full of air.

Juan007 · Nov 9, 2011, 12:45 AM

Two years ago, Steve Jobs said "Flash sucks on mobile devices". Adobe whined, screamed, bitched and moaned about it.

Today, Adobe just said "Flash sucks on mobile devices".

^*..*^ · Nov 9, 2011, 12:46 AM

I use "Swifter" whenever a site tells me I need Flash.
Just copy the site's URL and paste into Swifter. In a few seconds the stuff is converted and I see it in the iPad. No problema.

vvebsta · Nov 9, 2011, 12:46 AM

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juan007

Two years ago, Steve Jobs said "Flash sucks on mobile devices". Adobe whined, screamed, bitched and moaned about it.

Today, Adobe just said "Flash sucks on mobile devices".

At least it only took 2 years. Sometimes admitting you're wrong can take a lifetime.

iindigo · Nov 9, 2011, 12:47 AM

Hahahaha, if this isn't a, "I told ya so" moment, I don't know what is. Good going, Adobe.

ChazUK · 12:48 AM

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.7; en-gb; Blade Build/GRJ22; CyanogenMod-7) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Ding dong the witch is dead.

I hope this really pushes the embrace of HTML5 further forward. This is good news.

Geckotek · Nov 9, 2011, 12:49 AM

Remember those nails I keep mentioning?? Yeah...one more nail...this time to the heart!

Nov 9, 2011, 12:22 AM	#2
jasheeky macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2009	Apple killed flash.
	109

Nov 9, 2011, 12:23 AM	#3
FrankieTDouglas macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2005	That's a shame. __________________ shtnom9
	-95

Nov 9, 2011, 12:23 AM	#4
B777Forevar macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Chicago, IL	Good. Flash sucks anyway regardless on any device. And this is comming from a iPhone and Android user.
	100

Nov 9, 2011, 12:24 AM	#5
adder7712 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Anywhere	So, will Flash be taken down from the Android Marketplace? __________________ Custom PC (Windows 8), MacBook Aluminium (OS X 10.7), iPad 3, Samsung Galaxy S III
	16

Nov 9, 2011, 12:24 AM	#6
Stridder44 macrumors 68040 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: California	Wow! I wasn't expecting this to happen! __________________ iPhone 5 MacBook Pro 2.53GHz/320GB HDD/4GB RAM iMac G4 800MHz/80GB HDD/512MB RAM
	43

Nov 9, 2011, 12:25 AM	#7
haruhiko macrumors 68000 Join Date: Sep 2009	Hahahahahaha Adobe....are you kidding? Then how can Samsung sell their phones anymore? __________________ Mac: rMBP'12, iMac'08/24", Mini'09 (dead), MBP'10/15", MBA'11/13"/256. iPhone: 5/64B, 4S/64W, 4/32B, 3GS/16. iPT: 3G,1G. iPad: 3/4G/64 2/3G/32, 1/WiFi/16. ATV'12,'11 AEBS'09
	48

Nov 9, 2011, 12:26 AM	#8
iLilana macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Alberta, Canada	good now maybe they'll try and make something new and innovative and easier on batteries and stuff __________________ I miss using this login. 2010 27 inch iMac, iPad2 16gb, dual i7 11 inch Macbook Air. iPad mini 32GB with LTE. next on list 2 more iPads.
	40

Nov 9, 2011, 12:27 AM	#9
Mr. Gates macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: --Redmond --------- ----------------Washington---	Too Bad. But I think there is hope yet for a re refocused and re imagined FLASH for Mobile. Its not dead, they just need to regroup and think it out. And thats good __________________ This is a RUMOR site For speculation and discussion.Not a Fan-Club. Just because we are interested in Apple rumors it doesn't mean we should be frothing at the mouth with Apple rabid comments.
	-78

Nov 9, 2011, 12:28 AM	#10
HONDAxACURA macrumors regular Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: California	I use an Android, and I do agree flash sucks. However, I do want a tablet to run flash. With this news, I'm not sure I want a tablet anymore, specifically Android tablet. In any case, flash+touch screen, NOT SO GOOD.... Annoying really. __________________  13" Unibody Macbook (Late 2008) 2.0 GHz, Kingston 8 GB DDR3 RAM, WD Scorpio Black 320 GB 7200 RPM HDD. 
	6

Nov 9, 2011, 12:29 AM	#11
gugy macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: La Jolla, CA	bye, bye Flash. __________________ MacPro 2.66 12 Core, 30" and 23" ACDs, MacBook Pro 2.2, MacBook, iPod 1G-5G, Shuffle 2G, iPhone 3G/4S
	36

Nov 9, 2011, 12:29 AM	#13
isopepper macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2011	Right again Don't need floppy, got CD. Don't need PS2/Serial, got USB. Don't need expansion, got Firewire/Thunderbolt. So many choices were right. Don't need Flash, got HTML5. So, now Adobe has given up and is doing the next best thing from their perspective - translating Flash apps for the medium. Good choice.
	75

Nov 9, 2011, 12:31 AM	#14
jacobo007 macrumors member Join Date: May 2010	Steve Jobs, April 2010 "....Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it. Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?"
	95

Nov 9, 2011, 12:33 AM	#15
ThomasJL macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2008	Good. Now if only Adobe would discontinue development on personal computer Flash...
	83

Nov 9, 2011, 12:34 AM	#16
mdriftmeyer macrumors 68020 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Pacific Northwest	Great purchase their Adobe. That 4+ Billion for Macromedia sure is working out. Apple buys NeXT for $463 Million and turns a dead relic into the juggernaut it is now, all in just over 14 years.
	30

Nov 9, 2011, 12:37 AM	#17
iRobby macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Forked River, NJ USA & Fort Myers, Fl USA	Does this mean that Flash is going to be defunct and the standard video will be HTML5? __________________ 15" MacBook Pro Retina (2012) 2.3GHz, 8GB RAM; 256GB SSD iPhone 4S White 64GB AT&T iPad (3rd Generation) White 64GB Verizon Airport Extreme (5th Generation)
	28

Nov 9, 2011, 12:39 AM	#18
godknows macrumors newbie Join Date: Apr 2010	I'd say they better come up with a Flash killer quick before someone else does. There is certainly a kinda similar market with Google pushing Dart and other things Javascript cannot yet achieve.
	2

Nov 9, 2011, 12:45 AM	#20
Juan007 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2010	Two years ago, Steve Jobs said "Flash sucks on mobile devices". Adobe whined, screamed, bitched and moaned about it. Today, Adobe just said "Flash sucks on mobile devices".
	105

Nov 9, 2011, 12:46 AM	#21
^..^ macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2011	Use Swifter ... I use "Swifter" whenever a site tells me I need Flash. Just copy the site's URL and paste into Swifter. In a few seconds the stuff is converted and I see it in the iPad. No problema.
	5

Nov 9, 2011, 12:47 AM	#23
iindigo macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Palo Alto, CA	Hahahaha, if this isn't a, "I told ya so" moment, I don't know what is. Good going, Adobe.
	28

Nov 9, 2011, 12:47 AM	#24
ChazUK macrumors 601 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Essex (UK)	Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.7; en-gb; Blade Build/GRJ22; CyanogenMod-7) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1) Ding dong the witch is dead. I hope this really pushes the embrace of HTML5 further forward. This is good news. __________________ Laptop: Acer Aspire V5 \|8GB Ram \|500GB HD \|Windows 8 Media Player: 5th Gen iPod Touch 32GB Phones: Nexus 4 16GB \|iPhone 4 8GB \|Lumia 620 Tablets: Nexus 7 3G 32GB \|iPad2 3G 16GB \|iPad Mini 16GB Last edited by ChazUK; Nov 9, 2011 at 12:48 AM.
	27

Nov 9, 2011, 12:49 AM	#25
Geckotek macrumors 604 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: NYC	Remember those nails I keep mentioning?? Yeah...one more nail...this time to the heart! __________________ Gecko Art \| Facebook \| flickr
	7

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