Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Why Doesn't Flash Work On iPhone?
- Thread starter wrkactjob
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Prior to 2010, yes, it really was technical. Flash was just bad on mobile devices. Hardly any cell phones had it.
Apple did not want Flash on the iPhone for a variety of business reasons, but it was easier to just say "it sucks" and not elaborate.
Of course, now mobile Flash is getting better...other phones are adding it soon. Apple's excuse will soon evaporate, but their real behind-the-scenes reasons haven't changed. So they're starting to change to talk about the web being open and HTML 5 being the future and so on.
So the short answer is, don't expect to EVER see Flash on the iPhone. Technically it COULD happen, but I really, really don't expect it.
Thanks...I see, I guess that will also apply for the new iPad as well, bit embarrassing seeing that being demonstrated with a BBC News page and the little messsage being shown about Flash not being available for the device.
Flash implementation on Macs has been embarrassingly bad on Macs for years. When it comes to Flash on Macs, Adobe has always taken a "so what" approach.
It's nice to hear Flash will be better on mobile devices in 2010, 3 years after the iPhone was released and has been selling well with out it.
I think Flash could show up on Apple portables, but probably not until Adobe steps up to the plate with regards to implementation on Mac platforms.
It's nice to hear Flash will be better on mobile devices in 2010, 3 years after the iPhone was released and has been selling well with out it.
I think Flash could show up on Apple portables, but probably not until Adobe steps up to the plate with regards to implementation on Mac platforms.
Adobe wants in, Apple doesn't.
Hope they come out with a safe and stable mobile version of flash that won't eat up your battery or crash the browser or cause problems.
And offcourse a way to disable it for when not needed.
Hope they come out with a safe and stable mobile version of flash that won't eat up your battery or crash the browser or cause problems.
And offcourse a way to disable it for when not needed.
All of that bs Apple puts out is clearly that, bs. They don't want flash because it will interfere with there app delivery system.
They don't want people developing app type applications in flash and bypass there app store.
There is really no other reason.
I'm actually surprised how bad Apple treats Adobe when Adobe basically saved the Mac by putting there product suite on there platform.
They don't want people developing app type applications in flash and bypass there app store.
There is really no other reason.
I'm actually surprised how bad Apple treats Adobe when Adobe basically saved the Mac by putting there product suite on there platform.
it's apparently due to performance and battery issues. But restricting flash seems to be a way to protect the app store, since most of their games are glorified (or even ported) flash games.
Poorly implemented how? I see flash on every site I visit, I don't see an issue. Because Apple "claims" most of there browser crashes are related to Flash? Please sir.
Flash performance on the same hardware running Mac OS X is much worse than running on Windows XP through to 7.
A review of Activity Monitor while playing Flash illustrates shows why it has tended to suck on mobile devices.
On Windows, Flash achieves Hardware Acceleration by directly accessing the CPU and RAM.
Being based on UNIX, neither Mac OS X nor Linux allows any program that level of access.
Good thing too. Flash vulnerabilities are a very large part of the on going security issues seen in Windows.
Being based on UNIX, neither Mac OS X nor Linux allows any program that level of access.
Good thing too. Flash vulnerabilities are a very large part of the on going security issues seen in Windows.
Because open source implementations of Flash (a moving target) still lag behind by a wide magin?
Look at gnash and read up on it.
That was only implemented under Flash 10.1 and only plays a part when playing h.264 video when using certain video cards. Flash consumes 15% - 25% CPU while idle (showing no video or interacting with content) and there is no excuse for that. There are ways to implement it under Linux, but they don't care enough to.
I, for one, am happy to see Flash on the way out just like I was happy ActiveX died a painful death.
Apple can't even get Flash to work on their desktop's without straining the system. We definitely won't ever see it on the iPhone.
You mean Adobe can't even get Flash to work on Macs without straining the system. Apple has no hand in writing or supporting the code for Flash. Apple probably told them to fix Flash on OSX first, then they can talk about whether it will go onto the iPhone.
Flash doesn't work on ANY platform...........work well at least.
Flash works very well on my cell phone and certainly the latest beta has hardware acceleration on my netbook. What's not to like about 1080p flash video playback on the netbook without even requiring a fan.