Adobe Gets Bitchy About Flash and iPhone
1:27 pm, November 3rd, 2009, Lonnie Lazar
Adobe makes clash over Flash on iPhone personal
Adobe made its position on the unavailability of Flash for the iPhone clear Monday with a snippily worded announcement that points the finger squarely at Apple for any iPhone user who might end up at the ‘getflash’ web page.
But an interesting comment on the Reddit thread about the long-standing brouhaha makes it appear the Adobe folks might doth protest too much. Flash would suck the iPhone’s battery dry in less than an hour.
From Reddit:
About six months ago, a friend who was working closely along side adobe’s flash application development team told me that they received a prototype of Flash for iPhone. The prototype allowed the iPhone to have less than half an hour of battery life using flash. They then sent the prototype to apple and suggested incorporating this prototype iPhone flash into the iPhone OS in the next update.
Apparently apple sent this letter back thanking them for being interested in developing a working version of flash for the iphone but because the prototype is so processor intensive, and awful for battery life, they would not include it with their OS because it is just not good enough. They suggested using the gpu instead of the processor to render flash. Then they suggested building a seperate app for flash and web browsing because there was no way apple could endorse flash integration on the iphone in its current state.
Adobe apparently didn’t want to release the app under their name either and it never showed up in the app store.
The short version of the long story appears to be that Adobe sucks at programming, that Apple informed them of this fact and that now Adobe is placing blame for the absence of Flash on the iPhone back in Apple’s lap.
Does anyone really miss Flash on the iPhone, though? Would Flash improve the iPhone experience significantly? Let us know what you think in comments below.
Posted by Lonnie Lazar in Apple, News, Quickies, iPhone | Comment on this article
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I thought I would miss it…. But I really don’t! Adobe can keep flash. Every once in a while, there will be a site that requires flash… More and more are being optimized for the iPhone.
MJ Britt, on November 3rd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Hah! Iphone 3gs, to weak for flash! You’ll miss out more than 50% of the internet(s) without flash.
Heey-oooh, on November 3rd, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I train faculty at a local community college and we use photoshop.com for simple photo editing and storage. The problem is you MUST have the most current flavor of Flash for it to work, a terrible inconvenience when you teach across various campuses and the techs forget to load the newest version. Flash, for all its… well, flash, is a memory intensive power wasting hog. No wonder Apple is saying thanks but no thanks. I don’t miss it a bit… and I’m noticing fewer and fewer web sites where you just gotta have it to see it. Maybe Adobe should get a grip and start realizing people just aren’t that amazed at their products anymore… especially when they require use of other Adobe software to work at all!
fotostuf, on November 3rd, 2009 at 3:28 pm
very lame attempt from Adobe… and no, I don’t miss/want Flash on iPhone due to the very same reason why I use Click to Flash pluggin in Safari -> to get rid of that stupid Flash content that sucks CPU cycles and spins the fans on my MBP
mark, on November 3rd, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I can’t stand flash even on my browser. So no I don’t miss it on my iPhone.
David Duggins, on November 3rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I’d like Flash, there are some sites that are completely written in flash (normally sites regarding movies and/or games). While I don’t NEED it, it’s just one of those “it’d be nice if I had the option” things.
Austin, on November 3rd, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I have been working with Flash for almost a decade now and have learned a lot about how it works and why it will not work. The logic of AS 2 or 3 is not the problem, the major problem is the vector rendering of Flash applications. If you have an object in the top left corner and bottom right corner and one of those objects were to change on the surrounding areas would change, if both of them were to change at the same time then everything in between them will change, this is where you get the Nintendo effect, or GPU slow down.
The reality is, the iPhone is a great calculator and can compute a lot of information very quickly. I have written complex JavaScript equations for Safari on the iPhone and it preforms really well. The problem with the vector based solution of Flash is that it renders too much of the screen. This is why there are inherit css transition introduced to the iPhone. I am often labeled a heretic for asking the question, “Would the Sprite approach of Shockwave been a better approach to the iPhone than Flash?”
The iPhone uses a very specific 3d rendering engine and a very specific codec as to appear to be better at visuals than it really is. Putting Flash on it will illustrate these short comings.
You also run the risk of a Flash based overlaying operating system which would diminish the strict control on the App Store.
Flash applications if built correctly are not the memory hogs or processor hounds the blind repeaters like to spout. Unfortunately, Flash applications if built poorly can become problematic, and I have built my share of those applications. However, Adobe has put a great deal of focus into Flash Lite, which is a Flash on a leash. Adobe has done a great deal to make a ubiquitous and scalable platform. Apple gets annoyed at the fact that it is better than there own.
Given Apple’s current course, in the next year as the Android platform takes off and as the need for iPods dimishish, the ways of Apple will catch up to them and they will join the ranks of Windows mobiles in the technology that could of been head of its time if their executives didn’t frack it all up.
Of course I could be wrong, though I rarely am
Vincent Clark, on November 3rd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Doesnt bother me in the slightest that the iPhone doesnt have flash. Adobe can F-Off.
Andrew Macdonald, on November 3rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Same here – thought I’d miss it but not really. Always thought flash was inefficient and sloppy. I’ve made flash apps before and though you can do alot with it, it feels old and clunky. I only would like it because of embedded videos from vimeo/etc that aren’t YouTube, but better than that would be just having the built-in app support more sites than just YouTube.
On the other hand maybe Adobe will figure out how to write efficient software and make take flash to a new level
Tyromind, on November 3rd, 2009 at 5:44 pm
You all are forgetting that Macromedia developed Flash. Not Adobe. Adobe inherited Flash, along with all the other Macromedia products, when Adobe purchased Macromedia.
Dave, on November 3rd, 2009 at 5:57 pm
If Apple manages to put a Vimeo app like the YouTube one, they’ll surely kill that last part of me clinging to Flash.. I hate flash, though i admire it’s endless potential, but nothing should hog my memory, or my battery life for that matter..
What’s interesting is that Apple suggested a different programming approach to deal with the memory and battery usage, using the GPU, but i think Adobe’s reaction show two things.. They suck in programming something apparently users worldwide are suffering from, and they don’t appreciate the chances and the market possibilities of them allowing a simpler version of Flash for the iPhone..
Already, most websites in any format (other than flash) working amazingly well on the iPhone, and those smarty pants who know what the iPhone could offer managed to build an iPhone-Friendly version (which are amazingly practical and user-friendly more than flash) and i think looking at the scope of what people SHOULD expect from a hand-sized internet machine is that it’s better off not to be included.. I mean, it’s still an iPhone..
Anony, on November 4th, 2009 at 12:10 am
whether Flash is good or bad I would like the freedom of choice of installing it or not on my iPhone, I feel I am restricted from viewing some websites media because of this squabble between Apple and Adobe,let me decide if I want it or not…
Poppa, on November 4th, 2009 at 2:52 am
@Poppa I agree mate. But Apple has never been one for freedom of choice. It’s their way or the highway.
They do make great hardware and software though, and I crave it constantly. But I guess that’s why there is such a large jailbreak community. Love the tech, hate the big brother attitude.
KenseiDave, on November 4th, 2009 at 3:22 am
Believe me – we love the tech because of the quality and flash for mobile devices is not currently quality
saman Jebeli-Javan, on November 4th, 2009 at 3:51 am
Sooo, the Iphone is too weak for flash, but the Palm Pre, Android Phones, WinMo Phones and Blackberries can do it just fine.
Hmmm…
One of these things is not like the other!
Bejn, on November 4th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Folks all this is real interesting, but this is about selling popcorn at the movies. If flash can run fine on all other phones, it can run on the iphone.
Flash means an open platform to download apps. That is not in the Apple model or the king of all closed systems, at&t.
I think call waiting is still $6 isn’t it.
Apple’s 15 minutes with the iphone is winding down.
jj, on November 4th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Don’t other phones have flash?
Does it suck their battery dry?
I really don’t know, I’m just asking.
Regarding need: not critical, but would be nice.
Some (crappy) websites won’t work without flash.
Don Pope, on November 4th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Yes, I miss it. Yes, it would.
Baboo, on November 5th, 2009 at 7:19 am
Fyi to all,
Flash has made an entry to the iPhone. And as a gentleman above said, Apple has to provide the choice and let the user decide. He simply cant shoo Flash, which runs on 98% on the internet enabled PCs.
Flash is bulkier than Java no doubt.. But the rich and superior experience that Flash delivers is unmatchable !
Mani, on November 9th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I love how the author uses a comment from Reddit as an authoritative source on the situation then proceeds to sling mud at Adobe. It would be nice if people had all the facts before they come to conclusions. It may come as a shock, but blog posts, comments, tweets and Facebook status updates aren’t accurate and verifiable sources of information in of themselves.
TJ, on November 9th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
i do wish iphone supported flash. we have to wait until flash exists on other smart devices – the apple will allow it.
stef, on November 10th, 2009 at 12:23 am
Thank you TJ! Finally a voice of reason…
This article’s source is a “comment on the Reddit thread” which suggests “About six months ago, a friend” and “Apparently apple sent this letter back” and “Adobe apparently didn’t want”.
Really? That is your source? Great journalism and public comment based on rumor!
Paul, on November 10th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
“The short version of the long story appears to be that Adobe sucks at programming”, yeah, I mean look at photoshop or illustrator, they are the two worst applications ever made!
stef, on November 11th, 2009 at 6:34 am
… all high end phones will soon be running Flash Player 10.1 – get used to it as so will the iPhone
Nick, on November 11th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Adobe Flash is NEEDED on the iPhone!!! But not for the actual program. I have an iPhone and I love it! The only things that I don’t like about it are the high monthly bill, no flash on camera, and the fact that Adobe Flash is not able to be run on it. I use the safari web browser more than I use my pc. It is so convenient and fast! And with wifi it’s even faster, I have never used a phone for everything other than calling more than I use my iPhone. But today there are so many websites that require flash player to be able to view them that it is actually a necessity rather than a luxury. It would enhance the web browsing on the iPhone expenentually! The web browsing is the main reason that I got the iPhone and I have never found another phone that can match up. And now that the Droid for Verizon is supposedly going to be running flash, I may have to think about switching, if the web browsing can compete with the iPhone. I hope that Apple understands what they are doing. I am not very tech savy but i wonder if there is a way to allow Flash just for the requirements for the websites that use it instead of the whole program? If so then that would be awesome! That’s all I’m looking for, not to develop apps. I hope that Apple and Adobe can come to an aggreement. I guess the customers, the people that buy their products and keep them in business, don’t matter anymore – but that seems to be a popular similarity among corporate America, as long as their making millions then screw everyone else. This is just my opinion and I don’t expect others to agree but I just wanted to get it out there. Let me know if anyone else agrees feels the same…
iPhone needs Adobe Flash!!!, on November 22nd, 2009 at 4:03 am
Personally, i think Adobe could do a OpenGL ES based version of their engine and why the heck not. OpenGL is as standard as things get, and you would just need a good parser for the format. It would sure speed things up on the iPhone, but only for vector based flash content. Flash Video.. well thats another hurdle i guess.
edgecrush3r, on January 13th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
You guys notice that after one person says they don’t miss flash then there comes more people who says the exact same thing… Yeah really such followers. Anyways if flash does come for the iPod if u don’t miss it then DONT GET IT!! Now stop complaining about it
-this message typed on my flashless iPod
iPod guy, on January 21st, 2010 at 10:59 pm