April 29, 2010
Steve Jobs: "Flash is a closed system"
In his open letter Thoughts on FlashAdobe Flash — a browser plugin for animations and video — deprecated as the web moved to HTML5., Steve Jobs explains why iPhoneApple's smartphone line — touch-first mobile computing and the App Store ecosystem since 2007. and iPadApple's tablet computer line — larger touch screens between phones and laptops. would never ship Adobe FlashAdobe Flash — a browser plugin for animations and video — deprecated as the web moved to HTML5. — citing openness, battery life, touch, and security.
Quote
“By almost any definition, [Flash] is a closed system.”
What it was for
Jobs argued FlashAdobe Flash — a browser plugin for animations and video — deprecated as the web moved to HTML5. was built for mice and PCs, not touch mobile. The letter accelerated HTML5The fifth major HTML revision — native audio, video, canvas, and APIs without browser plugins. video adoption and became the epitaph for FlashAdobe Flash — a browser plugin for animations and video — deprecated as the web moved to HTML5. on phones — even as critics called Apple hypocritical about its own walled garden.
People
- Steve Jobs — ceo
Companies
- Adobe
- Apple
Why it's here
The manifesto that helped kill FlashAdobe Flash — a browser plugin for animations and video — deprecated as the web moved to HTML5. on mobile.
Why it mattered
It pushed the web toward H.264, HTML5The fifth major HTML revision — native audio, video, canvas, and APIs without browser plugins., and native apps on iOSApple's mobile operating system — runs iPhone and iPad with a sandboxed app ecosystem..
What it solved
Mobile devices needed a stance on plugin-heavy desktop web content.
Media
- YouTubeBloomberg — Steve Jobs on Adobe Flash and mobile
ImageSteve JobsMatthew Yohe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons