It seems that many expected these consequences after Apple refused to support Adobe Flash technology for iPhones, iPods and iPads. Apple’s battle to develop its hardware without Flash appears to be having a negative impact on Adobe. After a year and a half of competing with the advent of HTML5, Adobe has decided to withdraw its support on the Android version of Flash Player. The announcement shocked the tech industry starting last November 2012. It’s eye-opening news because it’s only a year after Adobe tried to develop a stable version of Flash for devices running Google’s operating system. Although the Android application for flash playback on mobile devices has made some updates after Adobe’s pull issue, but still, the standard is considered to be outdated already.
However, some mobile users have been able to install such an app and view Flash content in their phones and tablets because some browsers still support the system. On the other hand, when Google released Chrome for Android that lacked Flash support, Adobe finally came to the decision to pull its resources and no longer provide future installations of Flash technology for mobile devices.
Despite being persecuted by Apple for adopting Flash technology, many still use such a platform and many are still eager to continue using it for more interactive and expressive website content. Although the deceased technology innovator, Steve Jobs, said that HTML5 would be the new web standard they adopted years ago, many still debate the functions of the two (Flash technology and HTML5). An article in Forbes.com written by Fred Capazza states that Flash and HTML5 technology should not be compared because they have different uses. Added Capazza, “The best and most important part is that you don’t have to choose between HTML5 and Flash because you can use both. Perhaps the best answer is to acknowledge that HTML5 and Flash have their pros and cons and that you can use one or both depending on the experience you want to offer and the limitations of your ROI, SEO and HR that you have access to.”
Capazza quickly ended his article with the startling statement “In short, it’s not a zero-sum game. Rather, it’s a process of natural evolution, as HTML catches up while Flash focuses on advanced features (and narrows, even as it merges, market share). Both are complementary. So please, stop comparing.”
