Mobile Flash Player Is Dead!

Well it looks like Apple got its wish after all…

When the first iPhone favored HTML5 over Flash-based content, many people were up in arms that Apple would ignore – and try to squash – such a popular format.

Adobe, the company behind the Flash standard, was committed to developing Flash for mobile devices and remained positive that we might see Flash on an iPhone some day.

Just five short years later, so much has changed. Apple has not budged an inch on its position regarding Flash, and Adobe basically gave up hopes of breaking into the iOS market.

Now it appears Adobe is giving up on mobile Flash completely in favor of Apple’s preferred format. The company confirmed on Wednesday that it plans to contribute “more aggressively” to HTML 5.

According to Danny Winokur, vice president of the Flash Client Platform at Adobe:

“HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively. This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across multiple platforms… We are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive HTML 5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers.”

Adobe will release Flash Player 11.1 for Android devices and BlackBerry PlayBook, which will contain bug fixes and security updates, but after that the company will cease development on mobile Flash. You gotta think, somewhere out there, Steve Jobs is smiling right now…

Now, keep in mind that although mobile Flash is nearing the end of its life, other forms of Flash are still going strong. Adobe AIR, which lets Flash developers convert their programs to Apple-friendly formats, is still up and running.

What’s more, the PC-version will soon be updated to Flash Player 11 which is said to bring a 3D gaming experience with console-quality graphics. Adobe is also already working on Flash Player 12, so Flash is by no means disappearing all together.

Honestly, with so many games out there and apps like Netflix, Hulu Plus and YouTube, not to mention HMTL5-optimized websites, I’d forgotten Flash wasn’t supported on iOS devices a long time ago. It’s definitely not necessary for the mobile experience, and I think Adobe has finally realized that.

Do you guys agree? What are your thoughts on the whole Apple vs. Flash situation? Weigh in down below in the comments