Adobe vs. Apple is going to get uglier
You think things are bad now between Apple and Adobe? Just wait until the lawsuit. — 2 I like it! — Usually I write about security here, but Apple's iron-bound determination to keep Adobe Flash out of any iWhatever device is about to blow up in Apple's face.
Context & Ripple Effects
The Flash fight has been building all year: in February, the Wall Street Journal framed how the iPad magnifies Apple's Flash feud by locking Adobe out of an entire new device category, while commentary split between blaming Apple's iron-bound control (one April 11 post argues Adobe 'screwed yourself') and urging Adobe to move past Flash entirely ('the best way to save Flash is by killing it').
Today's report adds a new escalation layer: per Gizmodo's same-day pickup, Adobe is rumored to be preparing a lawsuit against Apple over the ban — unconfirmed, but if filed it would move a platform-policy dispute into court, where discovery could surface internal reasoning Apple has so far kept out of public view.
First-order effects
- Apple's refusal to allow Flash on any iWhatever device — a stance confirmed across this coverage — now carries potential legal exposure rather than just developer backlash, with any filing forcing Apple to defend the ban on the record.
- Adobe gains a possible courtroom lever for a market its runtime cannot reach through normal distribution, but takes on litigation costs and the risk that a loss entrenches Apple's closed-SDK model.
Second-order effects
- Rival handset and tablet makers get a ready-made differentiator — Flash-friendly devices pitched directly against the iPhone and iPad — turning Apple's exclusivity into their marketing copy.
- Developers and content publishers face sharpened pressure to pick toolchains: betting on Flash means accepting non-distribution on the fastest-growing mobile platform, accelerating rework toward whatever Apple permits.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, disputes over what software may run on closed mobile platforms shift from developer forums and op-eds toward antitrust-style legal challenges, testing whether app-store gatekeeping is a legitimate product decision or an abuse of platform power.
The trend: Mobile platforms are consolidating control over which runtimes reach their users, and the resulting vendor standoffs are migrating from blog wars toward litigation.