Adobe: Chrome for Android will not get Flash support
When Google today launched Chrome for Android in beta they did so without support for Adobe Flash. For many users this seemed surprising given the strong push for Flash on Google's mobile OS after Steve Jobs and Apple refused to allow Adobe's platform on their iOS devices.
Context & Ripple Effects
Adobe's mobile Flash campaign has been unwinding for a year. After the CEO promised Flash across Android, WebOS and BlackBerry devices in 2H 2010, the Android player shipped weak (LAPTOP Mag called it proof of Jobs' argument) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab build was an outright failure. In November 2011 Adobe drew a line: Flash would reach Android 4.0 but not Android 5.0.
Today's beta launch of Chrome for Android makes that line explicit — Google's own next-generation browser ships without Flash, and Adobe confirms it will never be added. The irony is sharp given Google spent two years pushing Flash on Android precisely because Apple barred it from iOS.
First-order effects
- Chrome for Android users on Flash-dependent sites must fall back to the stock Android browser, splitting the Android web into a Flash-capable old stack and a Flash-free new one.
- Adobe loses its last flagship distribution vehicle on mobile: with Chrome excluded and Android 5.0 already ruled out in November 2011, its confirmed roadmap leaves Flash stranded on legacy Android versions only.
Second-order effects
- Google signals to publishers and advertisers that the future Android web is HTML5-based, pressuring sites still serving Flash video and ads to accelerate rewrites or lose Chrome traffic as the browser scales beyond beta.
- Apple's iOS position is effectively vindicated by Google's own engineering choice, removing the last competitive talking point Android carriers and OEMs used when marketing Flash against the iPhone and iPad.
Third-order effects
- If Chrome becomes Android's default browser path, plugin-based rich media gives way to a single HTML5/JavaScript runtime controlled by the browser vendor — concentrating web-platform power in Google's hands rather than Adobe's.
- The episode sets a template for how platform owners retire contested technologies: ship the successor without the legacy layer, let market share do the deprecation, and avoid a formal end-of-life fight.
The trend: Mobile platforms are consolidating around native HTML5 runtimes, with browser vendors — not plugin makers — deciding which web technologies survive on phones and tablets.