Flash Won’t Hit the iPhone Anytime Soon

By Geoff Duncan February 2, 2009

Even before the first version of Apple’s iPhone hit the streets, pundits and critics were lamenting the lack of support for Adobe Flash on the device, saying that lack of Flash support would lock iPhone users out of a wide variety of Internet content. Although individual applications have enabled access to Flash-powered services like YouTube, others remain inaccessible, like the NBC-Fox video streaming service Hulu, a vast number of widgets and applets, and—of course—a number of online games.

However, as the iPhone closes in on its second year of availability, there’s still no version of Flash for the device—and at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen dashed users’ hopes the technology might appear any time soon. “It’s a hard technical challenge, and that’s part of the reason Apple and Adobe are collaborating,” Narayen told Bloomberg Television. “The ball is in our court. The onus is on us to deliver.”

Almost a year ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was somewhat dismissive of the prospects of bringing Flash to the iPhone, citing the full version of Flash as too cumbersome for the device, and Flash Life—Adobe’s stripped-down version of the technology—as too weak. A few weeks later Narayen indicated Flash development for the iPhone was indeed underway, but no announcements have been made.

In contrast, Adobe is actively bringing Flash technology to both Windows Mobile and Google’s Android mobile platform. Those platforms can also run Sun’s Java virtual machines, which may give them a leg up on the iPhone in some enterprise circles, and among a handful of consumers who depend on Java-enabled applications and technologies.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Mobile

Best iPhone 14 deals: Unlocked and refurbished

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro's camera module

Some of the best Apple deals and best iPhone deals come from the iPhone 14 lineup. While it has been around a couple of years now, the iPhone 14 is still only one generation old as iPhone releases go. This means it still has a lot to offer, including much of what can be found in the newer iPhone 15, but it will often see some impressive price drops. Many of the best iPhone 14 deals we’re seeing right now are on refurbished models, but both new and refurbished models are out there, and each makes for some of the best phone deals going on at the moment. You’ll find all of the information you need to save on an iPhone 14 below, but if you’d like to land yourself the latest and greatest you should also check out the current iPhone 15 deals, Samsung Galaxy S24 deals, and Google Pixel 8 deals.
Apple iPhone 14 -- from $491, was $699

With the Apple iPhone 14 you’re getting what is still one of the most popular smartphones on the market. This is the iPhone 14 model that’s meant for everyone. It holds back a few features you can only get on the Pro model, but it still has an impressive 6.1-inch display, an impressive camera, and dozens of ways to personalize your iOS experience with widgets and fonts. The phone can reach up to 26 hours of battery life on a single charge, and it’s powered by Apple’s A15 Bionic chip. Face ID, emergency SOS via satellite, and super fast 5G cellular connectivity round out the top features of the Apple iPhone 14.
Buy Refurbished at Amazon — from $491

Mobile

Here’s how iOS 18 could change the way you use your iPhone

The lock screen on the Apple iPhone 15 Plus.

It seems the long-overdue Siri overhaul will finally arrive at WWDC in just over a week from now, and the digital assistant will embrace AI trickery in all its forms. According to Bloomberg, Apple’s planned upgrades for Siri will deeply integrate with on-device functions at the OS level and with the installed apps, too.

“The new system will allow Siri to take command of all the features within apps for the first time,” the report says. The most notable capability is that Siri will only require voice prompts to interact with apps, thanks to a major change in the AI architecture powering it and putting large language models in command, just the way Gemini or ChatGPT draw their own skills from such models.

Mobile

Become an iPhone video master with this powerful new app

Screenshots from the Kino app.

Avid iPhone photographers will already know the excellent Halide camera app and how it can help transform the stills you take. But they will also know it does not support video, a point the company itself has been well aware of too. That’s why it has launched Kino, a video app for the iPhone that aims to bring similar Halide-style benefits to video instead of stills.

Kino is described as a video app for beginners and experts alike, but to get the most from it, you’ll likely need to be familiar with the iPhone’s video recording modes. For example, one of the main features that makes Kino stand out is Instant Grade, which uses the Log video recording mode, which was introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.