The Battle of Apple and Adobe

Formerly friendly, the firms are now feuding. What's in the future for Flash?

When Steve Jobs announced that the Apple iPhone and iPad would not support Adobe Flash technology, he changed the face of competition. This has created a feud between two former business partners, leaving a trail of bad blood. Adobe recently took out newspaper ads telling customers how much it loves Apple – are they taking the high road or pining for sympathy?

I’m going with the latter. Adobe realizes that without being on Apple’s platforms, it will lose much of the market share it currently holds as more consumers replace their laptops and computers with iPhones and iPads. No doubt there’s a hint of sarcasm in Adobe’s loving message, but I’m not sure taking Apple on with kid gloves is the way to win this war. This reeks somewhat of desperation – a last-ditch effort to save what might be an application whose better days are behind it.

Although most of us use Flash technology and don’t even know it (through videos and websites), a new technology, html5, is taking hold. Don’t ask me to explain how it works (I’d only confuse you more); my point is that Adobe needs to think strategically about how it’ll play this game.

The ads Adobe is running speak to wanting to ensure that everyone has a choice as to the technology they use and the applications they download. Adobe claims Apple is taking this right away from users by not enabling the use of Flash with its new products. My question is: does the average person really care which technology is used?

I’m all for fair competition, but Apple obviously has a reason for its choice, and as self-serving as that reason must be, what can be done about it? Is this any different than Microsoft embedding its own products as part of its operating system? In principle this situation is the same; however, the big difference is that html5 is not Apple technology.

So what does Apple have to gain by blocking Adobe Flash from its machines? Apple has repeatedly claimed that Flash is “buggy” and causes Mac computers to crash, although how often this happens is up for debate. Apple seems to know what it’s doing, but a by-product of its decision might be to polarize developers.

Up until recently, it has never been an either-or choice. You could develop software using Flash or html5, and it would be compatible anywhere. Now what will Flash developers do? Apple products are growing faster than any other handheld device, and all signs are pointing to the fact that people will use their cell phones and handheld devices more and more in the future.

These Flash developers are many of the same developers who build apps for Apple products. Will there be an underground revolution started by Flash developers and advocates? Time will tell.