android Flash Player will not be available on Android 4.1+ through Google Play stor

[Boz]

We announced last November that we are focusing our work with Flash on PC browsing and mobile apps packaged with Adobe AIR, and will be discontinuing our development of the Flash Player for mobile browsers. This post provides an update on what this means for ongoing access to the Flash Player browser plugin for Android in the Google Play Store.

The Flash Player browser plugin integrates tightly with a device?s browser and multimedia subsystems (in ways that typical apps do not), and this necessitates integration by our device ecosystem partners. To ensure that the Flash Player provides the best possible experience for users, our partner program requires certification of each Flash Player implementation. Certification includes extensive testing to ensure web content works as expected, and that the Flash Player provides a good user experience. Certified devices typically include the Flash Player pre-loaded at the factory or as part of a system update.

Devices that don?t have the Flash Player provided by the manufacturer typically are uncertified, meaning the manufacturer has not completed the certification testing requirements. In many cases users of uncertified devices have been able to download the Flash Player from the Google Play Store, and in most cases it worked. However, with Android 4.1 this is no longer going to be the case, as we have not continued developing and testing Flash Player for this new version of Android and its available browser options. There will be no certified implementations of Flash Player for Android 4.1.

Beginning August 15^th we will use the configuration settings in the Google Play Store to limit continued access to Flash Player updates to only those devices that have Flash Player already installed. Devices that do not have Flash Player already installed are increasingly likely to be incompatible with Flash Player and will no longer be able to install it from the Google Play Store after August 15^th.

The easiest way to ensure ongoing access to Flash Player on Android 4.0 or earlier devices is to use certified devices and ensure that the Flash Player is either pre-installed by the manufacturer or installed from Google Play Store before August 15^th. If a device is upgraded from Android 4.0 to Android 4.1, the current version of Flash Player may exhibit unpredictable behavior, as it is not certified for use with Android 4.1. Future updates to Flash Player will not work. We recommend uninstalling Flash Player on devices which have been upgraded to Android 4.1.

For developers who need ongoing access to released versions of Flash Player for Android, those will remain available in the archive of released Flash Player versions. Installations made from the archive will not receive updates through the Google Play Store.

As always this and other Flash runtime roadmap updates can be found in the Adobe roadmap for the Flash runtimes white paper.

http://blogs.adobe.c...oid-update.html

Sadly this will limit Android devices to access flash content on the web only on certified devices (which means not so much). So much flash content out there I enjoyed on Android will now be inaccessible. :(

[Vice]

Good. Time for Flash to die.

[.Neo]

Sadly this will limit Android devices to access flash content on the web only on certified devices (which means not so much). So much flash content out there I enjoyed on Android will now be inaccessible. :(

Awww must be a black day for you. You spent so much time and energy here preaching iOS's demise because of Apple's refusal to include Flash support. Now your beloved Google slowly turns its back on it too and Adobe pretty much halting mobile Flash development.

Sorry for your loss. I'll be lighting a candle for you tonight.

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

As much as people hate Flash i have found it useful on my phone. The BBC iPlayer app for Android is useless however as the iPlayer uses flash ive always been able to watch on the proper website fine.

[Detection]

I thought I would miss flash when I bought my WP7.5 and I haven't even noticed it not being there

[Haggis Veteran]

will be able just to use the apk to install it so grab the apk while u can :)

[Phouchg]

On a phone I didn't really see a need for it, it was always On Demand, too. However, I do not really support decisions that cut features just because.

[Detection]

will be able just to use the apk to install it so grab the apk while u can :)

I think it will be more than just needing an apk :)

[Boz]

I thought I would miss flash when I bought my WP7.5 and I haven't even noticed it not being there

That's because most people using smartphones use apps. That's why many people don't notice it that much.

[Boz]

will be able just to use the apk to install it so grab the apk while u can :)

Well you can have Flash..that's not a problem.. the problem is that it might not working properly on Jelly Bean and going forward unless device is certified with Adobe.

What this means really is that you won't be able to install Flash on any device running 4.1+, but should have Flash if the device is certified with Adobe and has Flash preinstalled. It's basically similar approach as Adobe has done with Microsoft they will probably give Flash Player source code to manufacturer to include with device and test.

[Vice]

Even a year from now only 10% of Android users will be on Jelly Bean so maybe it's not such a big deal after all. :rofl:

[Haggis Veteran]

Well you can have Flash..that's not a problem.. the problem is that it might not working properly on Jelly Bean and going forward unless device is certified with Adobe.

What this means really is that you won't be able to install Flash on any device running 4.1+, but should have Flash if the device is certified with Adobe and has Flash preinstalled. It's basically similar approach as Adobe has done with Microsoft they will probably give Flash Player source code to manufacturer to include with device and test.

what the article says is

Beginning August 15^th we will use the configuration settings in the Google Play Store to limit continued access to Flash Player updates to only those devices that have Flash Player already installed.

So use the APK to install it and then it will recognise its installed and allow you to update

[.Neo]

Even a year from now only 10% of Android users will be on Jelly Bean so maybe it's not such a big deal after all. :rofl:

At least it's some comfort in these dark times. :rofl:

[Nick H. Supervisor]

So use the APK to install it and then it will recognise its installed and allow you to update

I took it to mean that as well. However, the point is that Adobe won't have tested the updates on all devices so there is the possibility that the update will stop flash from working on your phone.

[Detection]

That's because most people using smartphones use apps. That's why many people don't notice it that much.

I can still visit youtube with the browser and watch videos, HTML5 ;)

[Haggis Veteran]

Yeah could do i suppose

i would rely on XDA to work out how to fix that lol

[fenderMarky]

Except for porn, flash is useless on mobile devices

[Boz]

I can still visit youtube with the browser and watch videos, HTML5 ;)

The only problem is that you will only see a part of the videos not all YouTube videos. HTML5 will not work for them because they need to push advertising and all that stuff as it is what keeps YouTube free. Flash allowed them to do that and why many videos are not available in HTML5. Right now, the reason why you can watch HTML5 videos on youtube without ads is because it's still a fairly small number and YouTube/Google makes quite a bit of money off advertising on the Flash part and thus that's what's paying for HTML5 part.

[Miuku.]

I'm yet to see a single video that doesn't work in HTML5, but then again I don't watch crap like Nicky Minaj's latest booboo or pants on head retarded networks like Machinima.

[Elliot B.]

He was right all along :)

[Beyond Godlike]

I dont even really use flash all that much on my phone. Youtube app covers my needs!

[xtrabit racing]

Except for porn, flash is useless on mobile devices

Probably the best comment :)

[BoredBozirini]

And people said Flash was still a key player.

Hilarious.

[togermano]

Flash on my galaxy s2 is very useful.... I can hook it up to the HDMI port on my tv and watch a few on demand shows on abc.com

[Boz]

And people said Flash was still a key player.

Hilarious.

Nobody said that on mobile. On desktop, yeah. On mobile it is important because we have tons of content we want to watch and interact with that is in Flash and support for it was crucial to be at least optional as HTML5 is terrible on mobile and there are very few mobile optimized sites for mobile anyways.