Is it the end of the road for mobile Flash?

It is a battle that has raged for some time. The stand off between Apple and Adobe regarding the effectiveness of Flash player for mobile devices has been the subject of many online debates and forums as well as an essay published by the late Steve Jobs. Now it appears the future of Flash for mobile devices has been finally settled. A leaked communication to expert technology publishers ZDnet has suggested that Adobe will no longer undertake any development activities for the mobile version of Flash Player.

Flash is primarily used to support films, games and other interactive applications on websites. While a plugin enables the technology to be used on some android devices, Apple has refused to allow it to be used on any of its products. Given the sheer dominance of Apple and its marketshare in the mobile technology arena, it is perhaps unsurprising that Adobe has finally conceded defeat. Instead, Adobe are believed to be concentrating development activites on mobile apps and HTML5.

While the unconfirmed report only relates to the development of Flash for mobile platforms, doubts are already being raised regarding the future development of Flash for traditional desktop PCs. Over the last few years, security issues have plagued Flash and have been at the centre of a number of viruses infecting PCs across the globe. Microsoft has confirmed that its upcoming Windows 8 IE 10 metro system will not include the Flash plugin by default, however, Microsoft have also confirmed that this version will not include any plugins at all. This is a slightly different stance from Apple, which has openly attacked Adobe and does not include Flash in any of its desktop computers as standard.

The report comes at a time when Adobe has announced it is axing 750 jobs, predominantly in the US and Europe, in a bid to restructure its business to support its 'aggressive' growth strategy in digital marketing and digital media. A number of our experts in house have suspected that Flash may be repositioning itself for some time. Once launched, the new version of Flash will come with new hardware graphic support, creating greater opportunities for gaming developers. Therefore, the decision to step back from active development in the mobile space may not indicate the end of the road for Flash, but instead, a significant change of direction.

We will endeavour to keep you updated as we wait for an official announcement from Adobe regarding the future of Flash. In the meantime, for more information about the impact this news could have for your website and online presence, please contact a member of the team.

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