Adobe will stop the development of its Flash Player for mobile browsers, and will work with key players in the HTML community, including Apple, to drive HTML5 innovation.
The decision by the software maker means that Web developers will probably stop using its Flash tools to produce video, websites and applications for delivery over mobile browsers.
"Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores," said Danny Winokur, Vice President & General Manager, Interactive Development at Adobe. "We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook," he added. "We will of course continue to provide critical bug fixes and security updates for existing device configurations. We will also allow our source code licensees to continue working on and release their own implementations."
Adobe's announcement is a concession to Apple and its founder Steve Jobs, who
had derided Flash as an inefficient power-hog. it comes as the design software specialist warned that revenue growth will slow next year when it shifts toward leasing its software on a subscription basis instead of selling licenses up front.
Adobe plans to keep advanecing Flash advanced gaming and premium video. Flash Player 11 for PC browsers just introduced dozens of new features, including hardware accelerated 3D graphics for gaming and premium HD video with content protection.
The company is already working on Flash Player 12 and a new round of features which expects "to again advance what is possible for delivering high definition entertainment experiences." Adobe will also design new features in Flash for a smooth transition to HTML5 as the standards.
Adobe also announced a restructuring plan on Tuesday that involves laying off about 7 percent of its workforce.