Ice Cream Sandwich Will Support Flash:
According to an email received by pocketlint, Adobe will be supporting Ice Cream Sandwich with a version of Adobe Flash for mobile, but this will be the last iteration from the Software manufacturer and all future versions of Android will not feature a flash player built by Adobe.
“Adobe will release one more version of the Flash Player for mobile browsing, which will provide support for Android 4.0, and one more release of the Flash Linux Porting Kit – both expected to be released before the end of this year.”
Android 5 – Jelly Bean will not support Flash:
Assuming reports are correct and Google will be releasing what is termed “Jelly Bean” as the replacement for the new “Ice Cream Sandwich” some time next year, then this will be the first version of Android to definitely not feature flash support.
Flash on other devices will not be coming to an end however as Adobe make clear in their communication to PocketLint:
“Adobe is focusing future innovation with Flash on advanced entertainment use cases, like console-quality gaming and premium video, with a focus on delivering these experiences through browsers on PCs and as apps through app stores on mobile devices and TVs. We are continuing to develop new versions of Flash for PC browsers and mobile and TV app developers. We are also continuing to develop new versions of Flash Professional and Flash Builder tools for developing Flash content.”
So there is no doubt that as HTML 5 improves, Adobe are going to have to see what happens to Flash as a general rich media conduit, there are some distinct advantages to the technology right now and I am sure it will be around for some time yet, but it seems that flash for mobile will be gone, and this does beg the question if it will stand the test of time for other technology.
Has this news come as welcome relief to Samsung Galaxy Nexus purchasers or are you not that bothered either way about the future of Flash on mobile?
Anthony Munns