Have you been greatly annoyed by the fact that the iPhone does not open some web pages or does not allow some features of a web page to work due to the lack of flash capability? Have you tried using YouTube directly in the Safari browser? Have you tried playing a video or using a flash dropdown only to get the infamous box with a question mark? This article will look at the reasons why the iPhone doesn’t currently have flash and the potential for flash in the future.
Apple has long been criticized for not having flash available on its popular iPhone device. Most users anticipated flash to be an outright inclusion with the release of iPhone 4. The most frequently asked question about the iPhone is whether flash will be included in the next software update or device release. Since the bigger and faster iPad doesn’t have flash, we can be pretty sure that Steve Jobs has made the point of it by eliminating flash as a possibility on the iPhone or iPad.
In a recent press release, Apple stated that flash is too inefficient a platform to work with for iPad and iPhone products; indicating that the battery is draining rapidly due to the use of the processor that requires flash. At the same time, Apple declared that the new html5 will be the Apple-based platform for flash performance on the iPhone and iPad. The html5 platform will allow for more efficient operation and be mindful of battery life.
As seen from current flash apps that have been designed for the iPad and iPhone, battery life is a major drawback when using flash. The flash platform displayed in these apps causes the device to crash, overheat and drain battery life in minutes. The interface is not compatible with smartphones and further frustrates the user.
The future of flash on the iPhone is uncertain; however, based on recent comments from Apple, Flash won’t appear on Apple devices any time soon. The implementation of html5 will create a lot of competition for Adobe’s flash platform and will likely lead to a redesign of how flash can be integrated with iPhone and iPad devices.
While the future is uncertain, the vast number of websites that use flash will either have to switch to html5 or offer iPhone-friendly sites.
