New York — Well are not sure whether we should call this a triumph for Apple or a failure for Adobe, but for sure the news would sadden Adobe Flash fans everywhere, as Adobe has officially abandoned support for the Flash interpreter it previously trumpeted as a gateway for developers to get their games on the iPhone and iPad.
According to reports the decision is made after Apple released a new plan of its iPhone developer program license, which banned private APIs and required apps to be written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine.
Adobe will leave the interpreter/compiler intact with its currently introduced Creative Suite 5 last week, but with little hope of it working on future iterations of the iPhone OS, which only added to disappointment of developers. Additionally, Adobe suggested developers with apps currently available for the iPhone OS platform they fully expected them to get yanked soon.
“Essentially, this has the consequence of restricting applications built with a number of technologies, including Unity, Titanium, MonoTouch, and Flash CS5,” Chamber wrote. “While it appears that Apple may selectively enforce the terms, it is our belief that Apple will enforce those terms as they apply to content created with Flash CS5.”
Chambers called for developers that they should get ready to have Apple abolish the 100+ Flash CS5-based apps currently in the iTunes Store. Additionally, Chambers invited developers to divert their focus to the Android platform, like he did, instead of developing for the iPhone.
Chambers explains: “We are cooperating closely with Google to bring both Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR 2.0 to [the Droid and Nexus One], and thus far, the results have been very promising,” he said. “There have already been a couple of developers who have moved their Flash based content from the iPhone to Flash on Android and I expect that this is a trend we will be seeing more and more of.”
Whereas Google has greeted Adobe with open arms during their spat with Apple, though surely for rather cynical reasons. Google was happy to have Adobe in their corner for as long as it benefits them. Being able to say you support Flash on your platform versus Apple that does not is a key element in a strategy of attracting the users who want Flash-enabled content. It will be interesting to see how long that strange marriage lasts.
Apple has responded to the decision by Adobe in what looks to be a disrespectful way. Apple spokesperson Trudy Miller said in a statement to CNET:
“Someone has it backwards — it is HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and H.264 (all supported by the iPhone and iPad) that are open and standard, while Adobe’s Flash is closed and proprietary.”
And just like that, one of the most controversial matters in the iPhone environment is over. When the iPhone debuted in 2007, Flash was a dominant force in the dynamic web. Many predicted the lack of Flash support as a significant weakness in the system. Three years into the grand iPhone experiment and it was Adobe that blinked, not Apple. The same held true of the iPad. Many moaned and groaned it did not support Flash but the maturity of the HTML 5 and H.264 standards have all but assured Flash’s place in history.