Flash on iPhone

[serious damage]

So, now that Adobe has demoed Flash 10 on the HTC Hero, what do you they're planning to do with iPhone? I know Steve Jobs once said Flash wouldn't run well on an iPhone but that was probably related to processor power rather than any software issue. Well, the 3Gs is out now with more kick than the older model.

Besides, if the competitors eventually get Flash running (Symbian, Windows Mobile, Android, most likely Palm and Blackberry, too) Apple is going to look stupid. So far it has seemed as if Apple has been pushing the brakes on this Flash thing.

 

[applecheese]

**** flash. adobe should make a decent flash player for the mac before they even think about putting it on the iphone.

 

[maflynn]

Besides, if the competitors eventually get Flash running (Symbian, Windows Mobile, Android, most likely Palm and Blackberry, too) Apple is going to look stupid. So far it has seemed as if Apple has been pushing the brakes on this Flash thing.

I don't think apple is putting the brakes on flash but there are technical reasons why its not on the iPhone - at least that's what both apple and adobe has stated. It is huge omission especially given the fact that other smartphones have easily incorporated flash into their phones.

 

[Kadman]

The Flash bashers will be here any minute to let you know why it's not needed and that it shouldn't be used because it's the scourge of the web. To me that's a pretty moronic reason to oppose having it on the iPhone. Flash is simply the reality for a fair number of useful sites and it just leaves those without a Flash solution in the dark. It would be a significantly better browsing experience if the iPhone could support it.

 

[Goona]

So, now that Adobe has demoed Flash 10 on the HTC Hero, what do you they're planning to do with iPhone? I know Steve Jobs once said Flash wouldn't run well on an iPhone but that was probably related to processor power rather than any software issue. Well, the 3Gs is out now with more kick than the older model.

Besides, if the competitors eventually get Flash running (Symbian, Windows Mobile, Android, most likely Palm and Blackberry, too) Apple is going to look stupid. So far it has seemed as if Apple has been pushing the brakes on this Flash thing.

Actually Blackberry is not getting flash, I wonder why the blogs don't mention that, always mention the fact iphone is not on the list.

 

[alFR]

The Flash bashers will be here any minute to let you know why it's not needed and that it shouldn't be used because it's the scourge of the web. To me that's a pretty moronic reason to oppose having it on the iPhone. Flash is simply the reality for a fair number of useful sites and it just leaves those without a Flash solution in the dark. It would be a significantly better browsing experience if the iPhone could support it.

That may be true, but what about Adobe's attitude to Flash performance on non-windows systems? I'd not hold my breath waiting for a low-footprint, resource-sparing flash player for iPhone if I were you, even if Apple were to allow it.

 

[eastercat]

The Flash bashers will be here any minute to let you know why it's not needed and that it shouldn't be used because it's the scourge of the web. To me that's a pretty moronic reason to oppose having it on the iPhone. Flash is simply the reality for a fair number of useful sites and it just leaves those without a Flash solution in the dark. It would be a significantly better browsing experience if the iPhone could support it.

I'm not a flash basher, but I will say that I don't want it if it contributes to a negative experience. By negative, I mean that it makes Safari crash on a regular basis or slows down the iPhone to a crawl. Poor performance is the reason Apple has given for not including flash.
Some people might be willing to live with those kind of trade-offs, but I'm not.

 

[Kadman]

I'm not a flash basher, but I will say that I don't want it if it contributes to a negative experience. By negative, I mean that it makes Safari crash on a regular basis or slows down the iPhone to a crawl. Poor performance is the reason Apple has given for not including flash.
Some people might be willing to live with those kind of trade-offs, but I'm not.

I understand the performance issue. It's certainly there. However, there are some around here who protest it's availability. I feel making it available, but giving people the option to disable it if they don't want it would be an acceptable approach.

Also, I hear many stating that Apple hasn't allowed this due to performance issues but I've never seen an Apple source quoted. Are you aware of any? It could very well be true, but I've just never seen it formally published anywhere.

 

[serious damage]

About performance

Well, what I can say about the performance on HTC Hero in the demo... It wasn't bad. We have to remember these are not full size computers, "just" cellphones. So maybe they have optimized their code in Flash 10. You think?

 

[chox99]

I support Flash as long as if I can TURN IT OFF. Flash have pretty much no use while normal surfing, just bugs me the hell out of me with Ads.

 

[serious damage]

Well, sure...

Turning it off must be available.

Generally I think Flash is such an integral part of the web these days I think we're missing out when surfing with iPhone and I'm not talking about the "experience" but the basic functionality of many sites.

 

[Ntombi]

I'm not a flash basher, but I will say that I don't want it if it contributes to a negative experience. By negative, I mean that it makes Safari crash on a regular basis or slows down the iPhone to a crawl. Poor performance is the reason Apple has given for not including flash.
Some people might be willing to live with those kind of trade-offs, but I'm not.

+1

And if it comes, I'll be one who has it turned off 99.9% of the time.

 

[colmaclean]

We all know Flash is rubbish on the Mac (check your CPU usage when on a Flash webpage)

I think this is a smokescreen as the main reason Apple ain't interested is because Flash would allow the development of pretty powerful apps. These would be available outwith of the App Store, meaning Apple would experience a substantial loss of revenue and control.

 

[jjprusk]

Flash on iPhone (HTML5)

At some point in the not too distant future, Flash will be irrelevant - it will be phased out in favor of implementations centered around HTML5. Its a matter of the tools that support production of interactive video to switch over to HTML5. The big advantage of this approach is that its standards-based and will be supported directly in the browser and will no longer require any plugins. At that point each browser (Safari, FireFox, Opera, IE, etc.) will support interactive video directly and Flash will be a thing of the past. My guess is that Apple, who is an active participant in driving the HTML5 standard forward, realizes all of this and is hoping to hasten the phase-out of Flash. The question is can they keep their user happy in the meantime.

 

[darngooddesign]

We all know Flash is rubbish on the Mac (check your CPU usage when on a Flash webpage)

I think this is a smokescreen as the main reason Apple ain't interested is because Flash would allow the development of pretty powerful apps. These would be available outwith of the App Store, meaning Apple would experience a substantial loss of revenue and control.

Those are still webapps and we've proven we want installed apps, not web apps.

 

[jjprusk]

Flash on iPhone (HTML5 reference)

Here's a reference for html5 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_5

 

[Switz213]

There are so many ways not to do things. Think about all the ways you can interact with flash... Rollovers, keyboard input... There are hundreds of ways to interact with flash, in ways you just can't do on a computer. Along with that, not every flash video is made up to specifications. You'll never see a full 100% flash player on ANY mobile device.