Adobe Says No More Flash On Android

This week marks a significant change for Android users. Last November Adobe announced that it would stop the development of Flash for mobile devices. As of yesterday, Adobe disabled new installs of Flash on Android devices. Things aren't looking good for Flash as a whole with support for Android over, iOS having never embraced Flash, and Microsoft offering only limited Flash support for Windows 8.

If Steve Jobs were still alive, he would probably be happy at this development. Jobs was adamantly against Flash instead pushing HTML 5 as a more open platform for powering mobile content, and more. HTML 5 can also support content on the desktop and other platforms making it a cross-platform option.

Adobe tried to move forward with the Open Screen Project as a way to get Flash on more platforms, but that plan was not successful. With no more support for Android, Flash now lacks access to roughly 85% of the smartphone market. Combine that with the fact that iOS holds a huge chunk of the remaining market, and it's clear Adobe has thrown in the towel.

Adobe will continue to support Flash on PCs where it has become very common and ubiquitous. The company says it will focus on gaming and premium video. I have to wonder how much longer Flash on computers can hold out before it succumbs to HTML 5.

[via The Verge]