View source for Thoughts on Flash

{{Short description|Open letter published by Steve Jobs}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
[[File:Steve Jobs at Apple iPad Event.jpg|thumb|Steve Jobs in January 2010, a few months before the publication of "Thoughts on Flash"]]
"'''Thoughts on Flash'''" is an [[open letter]] published by [[Steve Jobs]], co-founder and then-chief executive officer of [[Apple Inc.]], on April 29, 2010. The letter criticizes [[Adobe Systems]]' [[Adobe Flash|Flash]] platform and outlines reasons why the technology would not be allowed on Apple's [[iOS]] hardware products. The letter drew accusations of falsehood, hypocrisy, and ulterior motive. In retrospect many publications came to agree with Jobs.

== Letter == 
On April 29, 2010, [[Steve Jobs]], the co-founder and then-chief executive officer of [[Apple Inc.]], published an open letter called "Thoughts on Flash" explaining why Apple would not allow Flash on the [[iPhone]], [[iPod Touch]] and [[iPad]]. He cited the rapid energy consumption, computer [[Crash (computing)|crashes]], poor performance on mobile devices, abysmal security, lack of touch support, and desire to avoid "a third party layer of software coming between the platform and the developer". He touched on the idea of Flash being "open", claiming "by almost any definition, Flash is a closed system". Jobs dismissed the idea that Apple customers are missing out by being sold devices without Flash compatibility by quoting a number of statistics, concluding with "Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content."<ref>{{cite web |last=Jobs |first=Steve |authorlink=Steve Jobs |date=April 29, 2010 |title=Thoughts on Flash |url=https://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615060422/https://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/ |archive-date=June 15, 2017 |accessdate=June 19, 2017 |website=[[Apple Inc.]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Eric |last=Slivka |title=Steve Jobs Posts 'Thoughts on Flash' Open Letter |url=https://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/29/steve-jobs-posts-thoughts-on-flash-open-letter/ |website=[[MacRumors]] |date=April 29, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=TJ |last=Luoma |title=Apple posts thoughts on Flash |url=https://www.engadget.com/2010/04/29/apple-posts-thoughts-on-flash/ |website=[[Engadget]] |publisher=[[AOL]] |date=April 29, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref>

=== Response ===
The letter drew immediate attention. In response to Jobs' accusations, Adobe's CEO [[Shantanu Narayen]] described the open letter as an "extraordinary attack", and, during an interview with ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', called the problems mentioned by Jobs' "really a smokescreen". He further fired back at Apple, stating that computer crashes were due to Apple's operating system, and that allegations of battery drain were "patently false".<ref>{{cite web |first=Jennifer |last=Valentino-Devries |title=Highlights: The Journal's Exclusive Interview With Adobe CEO |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/04/29/live-blogging-the-journals-interview-with-adobe-ceo/ |website=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |publisher=[[Dow Jones & Company]] |date=April 29, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Charles |last=Arthur |title=Adobe CEO hits back in row with Steve Jobs over Flash on Apple's iPhone |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2010/apr/29/adobe-chief-executive-flash-apple-reply |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=April 29, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref> Various publications had different opinions on the topic. ''[[Wired (website)|Wired]]''{{'}}s Brian Chen had in a 2009 article claimed Apple would not allow Flash on the iPhone for business reasons, due to the technology being able to divert users away from the [[App Store (iOS)|App Store]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Brian X. |last=Chen |title=Why Apple won't allow Adobe Flash on iPhone |url=https://www.wired.com/2008/11/adobe-flash-on/ |website=[[Wired (website)|Wired]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |date=November 17, 2009 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref> John Sullivan of ''[[Ars Technica]]'' agreed with Jobs, but highlighted the hypocrisy in his reasoning, writing: "every criticism he makes of Adobe's proprietary approach applies equally to Apple".<ref>{{cite web |first=John |last=Sullivan |title=Pot, meet kettle: a response to Steve Jobs' letter on Flash |url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2010/04/pot-meet-kettle-a-response-to-steve-jobs-letter-on-flash/ |website=[[Ars Technica]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |date=April 30, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref> Dan Rayburn of ''[[Business Insider]]'' accused Steve Jobs of lying, particularly the sentiment that most content on the Internet is available in a different format.<ref>{{cite web |first=Dan |last=Rayburn |title=Steve Jobs Is Lying About Flash |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-is-lying-about-flash-2010-4 |website=[[Business Insider]] |publisher=[[Axel Springer SE]] |date=April 29, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref>

Retrospectively, more publications have agreed with Jobs. Ryan Lawler of ''[[TechCrunch]]'' wrote in 2012 "Jobs was right", adding [[Android (operating system)|Android]] users had poor experiences with watching Flash content and interactive Flash experiences were "often wonky or didn't perform well, even on high-powered phones".<ref>{{cite web |first=Ryan |last=Lawler |title=Steve Would Be Proud: How Apple Won The War Against Flash |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/06/30/steve-jobs-war-against-flash/ |website=[[TechCrunch]] |publisher=[[AOL]] |date=June 30, 2012 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref> Mike Isaac of ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' wrote in 2011 that "In [our] testing of multiple Flash-compatible devices, choppiness and browser crashes were common", and a former Adobe employee stated "Flash is a resource hog [...] It's a battery drain, and it's unreliable on mobile web browsers".<ref>{{cite web |first=Mike |last=Isaac |title=Adobe Had It Coming: The Long, Slow Goodbye of Mobile Flash |url=https://www.wired.com/2011/11/adobe-mobile-flash-dead |website=[[Wired (website)|Wired]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |date=November 9, 2011 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref> Kyle Wagner of ''[[Gizmodo]]'' wrote in 2011 that "Adobe was never really able to smooth over performance, battery, and security issues".<ref>{{cite web |first=Kyle |last=Wagner |title=Report: Adobe Is Finally Pulling the Plug on Mobile Flash (Updated) |url=https://gizmodo.com/5857784/report-adobe-is-finally-pulling-the-plug-on-flash-for-mobile |website=[[Gizmodo]] |publisher=[[Univision Communications]] |date=November 9, 2011 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref>

== iOS development ==
In April 2010, Apple announced changes to its iPhone Developer Agreement, with details on new developer restrictions, particularly that only apps built using "approved" programming languages would be allowed on the App Store. The change impacted a number of companies that had developed tools for [[porting]] applications from their respective languages into native iPhone apps, with the most prominent example being Adobe's "Packager for iPhone", an iOS development tool in [[beta version|beta]] at the time.<ref>{{cite web |first=Brian X. |last=Chen |title=Adobe Apps: Easier to Pass Through the 'i' of a Needle? |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/04/iphone-developer-policy |website=[[Wired (website)|Wired]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |date=April 8, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=John |last=Gruber |authorlink=John Gruber |title=New iPhone Developer Agreement Bans the Use of Adobe's Flash-to-iPhone Compiler |url=https://daringfireball.net/2010/04/iphone_agreement_bans_flash_compiler |website=Daring Fireball |date=April 8, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Jason |last=Kincaid |title=Apple Gives Adobe The Finger With Its New iPhone SDK Agreement |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/04/08/adobe-flash-apple-sdk/ |website=[[TechCrunch]] |publisher=[[AOL]] |date=April 8, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' quoted an Adobe supporter alleging the policy to be anti-competitive.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jenna |last=Wortham |title=Apple Places New Limits on App Developers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/technology/companies/13apple.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 12, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref>

On May 3, 2010, ''[[New York Post]]'' reported that the US [[Federal Trade Commission]] (FTC) and the [[United States Department of Justice]] (DOJ) were deciding which agency would launch an antitrust investigation into the matter.<ref>{{cite web |first=Josh |last=Kosman |title=An antitrust app |url=https://nypost.com/2010/05/03/an-antitrust-app/ |website=[[New York Post]] |publisher=[[News Corp (2013–present)|News Corp]] |date=May 3, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Jacqui |last=Cheng |title=Apple iPhone OS compiler policy may lead to antitrust probe |url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/2010/05/apples-compiler-policy-may-land-it-in-hot-water-with-ftc/ |website=[[Ars Technica]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |date=May 3, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref>

In September 2010, after having "listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart", Apple removed the restrictions on third-party tools, languages and frameworks, and again allowing the deployment of Flash applications on iOS using Adobe's iOS Packager.<ref>{{cite web |first=Charles |last=Arthur |title=Apple opens App Store to programs written in Adobe Flash – and more |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2010/sep/09/apple-app-store-flash-open |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=September 9, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Charlie |last=Sorrel |title=Apple eases app development rules, Adobe surges |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/09/apple-lifts-app-store-flash-ban-publishes-app-review-rules |website=[[Wired (website)|Wired]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |date=September 9, 2010 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref>

On November 8, 2011, Adobe announced that it was ceasing development of the Flash Player plug-in for web browsers on mobile devices, and shifting its focus toward building tools to develop applications for mobile app stores.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jordan |last=Golson |title=Adobe Discontinues Development of Flash Player on Mobile Devices |url=https://www.macrumors.com/2011/11/09/adobe-discontinues-development-on-mobile-flash/ |website=[[MacRumors]] |date=November 8, 2011 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Stephen |last=Shankland |title=Adobe abandons Flash plug-in for mobile devices: report |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/adobe-abandons-flash-plug-in-for-mobile-devices-report/ |website=[[CNET]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |date=November 8, 2011 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=MG |last=Siegler |title=Steve's Last Laugh: Adobe Killing Off Flash For Mobile Devices |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/11/08/mobile-flash-is-coming-soon-i-swear/ |website=[[TechCrunch]] |publisher=[[AOL]] |date=November 8, 2011 |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref>

In 2021, former Apple head of software engineering [[Scott Forstall]] said in a taped deposition in the [[Epic Games v. Apple]] lawsuit that Apple had once helped Adobe try to port Flash for iPhone and iPad. Performance was "abysmal and embarrassing", and Apple never allowed Flash to be released for iOS.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://9to5mac.com/2021/04/27/apple-tried-to-help-adobe-bring-flash-to-ios-but-the-results-were-embarrassing |title=Apple tried to help Adobe bring Flash to iOS, but the results were 'embarrassing' |last=Espósito |first= Filipe |date=2021-04-28 |website=9to5Mac |access-date=2021-09-03 |quote=We did not ship Flash. We tried to make Flash work. We helped Adobe. We definitely were interested. Again, this is one where I thought if we could help make it work, this could be great. Flash has been such a problem because the way that it hooks into systems, it’s been a virus nightmare on Windows, even on the Mac. And when we got it running on iOS, the performance was just abysmal and embarrassing and it could never get to something which would be consumer value add.}}</ref>

== Flash end of life ==
{{Main Article|Adobe Flash#End of life}}
In July 2017, Adobe announced its intention to discontinue Flash (including security updates) altogether by the year 2020.<ref>{{cite web |first=Tom |last=Warren |title=Adobe will finally kill Flash in 2020 |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/25/16026236/adobe-flash-end-of-support-2020 |website=[[The Verge]] |publisher=[[Vox Media]] |date=July 25, 2017 |accessdate=September 3, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Brian |last=Barrett |title=Adobe finally kills Flash dead |url=https://www.wired.com/story/adobe-finally-kills-flash-dead/ |website=[[Wired (website)|Wired]] |publisher=[[Condé Nast]] |date=July 25, 2017 |accessdate=September 3, 2017}}</ref> As of December 31, 2020, Flash support has ended. Adobe blocked Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Adobe Flash Player EOL General Information Page|url=https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/end-of-life.html|access-date=March 15, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Comparison of HTML5 and Flash]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501010616/http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/ |date=May 1, 2010 |title="Thoughts on Flash"}}

{{Adobe Flash}}
{{Steve Jobs}}

[[Category:2010 essays]]
[[Category:Adobe Flash]]
[[Category:Criticisms of software and websites]]
[[Category:Open letters]]
[[Category:Steve Jobs]]