75th Tumblelog

Just to be very clear on this. No matter what we did, the Flash Player was not going to be available on Apple’s iOS anytime in the foreseeable future.

“No matter what we did, the Flash Player was not going to perform acceptably on any mobile device anytime in the foreseeable future.”

In general, users do not look to the web on mobile devices for finding and consuming rich content (such as games and applications).

There are a number of reasons for this, including:

Differences in screen sizes, resolution and interaction models between mobile devices and desktop PCs

“Flash doesn’t scale, literally or figuratively”

Generally slower, and higher latency network connections (which is [sic] often metered) on mobile devices, which makes it cumbersome, sometimes expensive, and sometimes impossible to repeatedly load rich content from the web on demand.

“Flash movies are way more bloated than equivalent native or HTML5 apps.”

The tight integration with the underlying operating systems that native applications provide.

“Flash movies look, act, and feel like crap on mobile devices.”

The tight integration between mobile app stores and the mobile operating systems, which removes most of the friction for discovering new content.

“Our attempt at cramming Flash movies into native apps didn’t work out so well for anyone.”

Essentially, users’ preferences to consume rich content on mobile devices via applications means that there is not as much need or demand for the Flash Player on mobile devices as there is on the desktop.

“Essentially, users’ preference to have both good experiences and good battery life means that there is no need or demand for the Flash Player on mobile devices.”

So, just to be very clear, contrary to what many have declared, Flash is not dead. It’s role and focus has shifted but we feel that it still fills important roles both on the web and mobile platforms.

“I am high as a kite.”

We feel that for the foreseeable future, Flash is particularly strong in delivering advanced video

“We’re very, very, very glad that the desktop browser vendors can’t agree on a common video codec…”

as well as providing a robust, and graphically rich gaming platform.

“…and we’re very, very, very thankful for Zynga’s success, regardless of its shady ethics.”

A lot of the things that you have done via Flash in the past, will increasingly be done via HTML5 and CSS3 directly in the browser.

…

I am not suggesting that all Flash content should or will be done in HTML5. You have to look at each project on a case by case basis and make a decision based on development costs, target platforms and user experience. Regardless, your customers are going to ask about HTML5, and you should put yourself in a position to best meet their needs, regardless of technology or platform.

“I’m not as high as I was five minutes ago. I’d really like you to think that Adobe isn’t as high as it was five years ago, but I’m not sure whether that’s true. We can all only hope.”

(Source: mikechambers.com)