Skip to main content

Adobe kills Flash for mobile

adobe flash
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Back when Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, haters declared what would become the world’s most popular phone dead in the water because it didn’t (and still doesn’t) support Adobe Flash. Everyone laughed at Apple. How stupid and arrogant could Steve Jobs really be? Countless forums on the topic and jibes at Apple’s expense followed. Fans of other operating systems touted their superiority because of their ability to use Flash.

Now, just four years later, not even Adobe will support Flash for mobile devices anymore. 

Recommended Videos

According to an Adobe memo to analysts, uncovered by Jason Perlow at ZDNet, Adobe plans to stop development of Flash for mobile browsers and refocus its efforts on HTML5, which allows browsers to display basically the same kind of content as Flash, but without relying on Adobe’s proprietary technology — i.e. no annoying plugins.

“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,” reads the memo. “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.”

Of course, the logical question to ask is whether or not Flash will survive on the PC. Apple, which owns 5 percent of the world’s PC market share, does not include Flash as a default install on its computers. And just recently, Microsoft announced that it too will abandon Flash as a default in its upcoming Windows 8 operating system. 

If the late Steve Jobs is to be trusted on this matter — and, it would seem, he should be — then Flash is destined to die altogether.

“New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too),” wrote Jobs in an infamous “Thoughts on Flash” post from April 2010. “Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.”

Who’s laughing now?

UPDATE: Adobe has confirmed that it will discontinue development of Flash for mobile devices. Read the full details here.

[Image via]

Andrew Couts
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
iOS 26 rumored to go back to basics with four intriguing upgrades
An iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 18, showing its home screen.

In just two days from now, Apple will take the stage at WWDC 2025 and showcase the big yearly upgrades for its entire software portfolio. I am quite excited about the platform-wide design update and a few functional changes to iPadOS, especially the one targeting a more macOS-like makeover for the iPad’s software. 

Of course, analysts will be keenly watching for Apple’s next moves with AI, but it seems some of the most dramatic features have been pushed into the next year. Apple can afford some of those delays, as long as the company serves enough meaningful updates to its user base. Apple won’t exactly be running dry on AI, though. 

Read more
5 rumored iOS 26 features we could see at WWDC 2025
An iPhone 16 laying on a shelf with its screen on.

Apple’s upcoming WWDC 2025 showcase is going to be a busy one, even though the expected AI-powered software rebirth may not land until next year. In the meantime, reliable sources have spilled the beans on what we might expect for the next major iOS overhaul. 

Starting with the name, Apple could skip iOS 19 and could go straight from v18 to v26. We are also expecting a design overhaul, something that could draw inspiration from Vision OS. On the functional side, an AI health coach would be a huge draw for fitness enthusiasts. 

Read more
Why you shouldn’t care what number Apple puts on your iPhone’s software
The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max's screen.

One number may change to another number at an important industry event on June 9, and despite some of the headlines that have been circulating around the news, this succinct explanation of what may happen allows you to guage its real importance. Apparently, Apple may use the WWDC 2025 keynote presentation to announce a change from the expected iOS 19 software’s name to iOS 26, and here’s why you shouldn’t worry about it. 

Many people won’t even know

Read more