The End of Flash For Android
Back in June, Adobe announced that they would cease support for Flash for mobile so newer versions of the Android platform, 4.1 a.k.a. Jelly Bean, will not be getting Flash. Flash was once considered an advantage for Android devices over iOS since it gave them the “full internet experience,” so losing it was deemed as crippling to Google’s mobile OS. And to emphasize its importance to the Android community, news soon broke that the Samsung Galaxy SIII Jelly Bean update will come with Flash. So there’s still hope that Adobe won’t stop supporting Flash for mobile. The downside is, Adobe already stated that if Jelly Bean users install Flash on their device, it will not work properly and cause glitches.
But all hopes of Flash ever sticking around for Android devices went out the window as Adobe pulled their Flash Player app in Google Play yesterday. As announced back in June, this doesn’t mean that devices that already have Flash installed will no longer be able to use it–they’ll still be able to do so, and receive any upgrades, but new users will no longer be able to install it on their devices.
If you’re wondering why Adobe nicked Flash for Jelly Bean, it’s simple: if your device doesn’t come pre-installed with Flash, it simply means it won’t work that well.
“If a device is upgraded from Android 4.0 to Android 4.1, the current version of Flash Player may exhibit unpredictable behavior, as it is not certified for use with Android 4.1,” Adobe stated. “Future updates to Flash Player will not work. We recommend uninstalling Flash Player on devices which have been upgraded to Android 4.1.”
Also last year, Adobe announced in a rather unsurprising development that they’ll be focusing more on Flash for PCs, so Flash for mobile has certainly taken a backseat.
But will Android users really miss Flash? According to some, Adobe wasn’t really able to deliver the full web experience to mobile devices, so the loss isn’t that big of a deal. If you’re an Android user who uses Flash Player for mobile, feel free to provide your insight on this topic in the comment box below.
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