Apple Pulls The Plug On Flash in Safari Technology Review

Apple finally eliminates Adobe Flash in the latest Safari Technology Review. The plan to eradicate it has been ten years in the making. The change was supposed to happen by the end of 2020, but as it turns out, Apple wanted to wait no longer. Judging by all looks and Apple’s support, HTML5 is the future.

Goodbye Adobe Flash

As fans could notice, the latest version of Safari Technology Preview does not support Adobe Flash. In fact, Apple never fully embraced Flash. In 2010, Apple decided not to pre-load it onto Mac. Even though it was available for macOS, it was not on by default, but players needed to approve and enable the Flash plugin before running it

That same year, Steve Jobs published a letter “Thoughts on Flash,” explaining why Apple no longer had needs of Adobe Flash. Jobs highlighted that all content that needed it was also available in other modern formats.

Due to issues with security, battery life, performance, but mainly because its closed nature clashed with Apple’s vision for open standards, Flash would no longer be needed. In conclusion, Jobs encouraged Adobe to create HTML5 tools, since this technology and other modern formats were the future.

Seven years later, the giant announced its plans to eliminate it from its products by the end of 2020. As it turned out, Apple couldn’t wait any longer, and in its latest Safari Technology Preview, pulled the plug on Adobe Flash.

Apple introduced Safari Technology Preview in 2016, as a standalone app, which provides players with insights at upcoming web technologies on iOS and macOS.

How Will This Affect Online Casinos?

Many online casinos still have games that run on Flash. Considering there are loyal players that want to play real money casino games, they would lose a significant part of their player base. Potentially there could be a cut in the percentage of website and mobile traffic.

New game releases are developed in HTML5, but the older titles still run on Flash. Developers have started remodeling their games to be compatible with both desktop and mobile devices without further software downloads. However, there are still developers who have a wide range of games that cannot be loaded unless Flash is enabled.

Operators would need to inform their players that Flash is no longer available on iOS and macOS, and suggest them to play games available in HTML5. In the meantime, they would need to come up with a solution quickly, unless they want to lose all their players who are iOS users. This is highly unlikely, considering most games today are in HTML5, but the risk is there.

HTML5 Technology in Online Gambling

There are many reasons why embracing HTML5 and getting rid of Adobe Flash is the wisest decision. Online gambling has seen a shift from desktop to mobile in recent years, with players playing their favorite online casino games on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

While Flash had its successful years in the past, when desktop computers were the only device available, HTML5 wins in the modern, mobile gambling age.

• Full Support on Mobile: In the age of mobile gambling, many mobile devices do not support Flash. In fact, iPhone, iPad, and iPod never even supported it.
• No Downloads Required: When a game runs on Flash, you have to download not only Adobe Flash but also additional apps and plugins. HTML5 performs on any browser flawlessly, without other app downloads.
• Faster Loading Times:  A game that runs on Flash loads way slower than a game in HTML5. This mainly happens in games with sophisticated graphics, when the loading time is not only time-consuming but unbearable, too.

The following comparison table highlights some of the benefits of HTML5 and the downfalls of Flash technology.

HTLM5 solves many problems for operators, developers, and players. It’s a cross-browser and device compatible technology offering speed and responsiveness. As the year progresses, it will be interesting to see how online casinos approach this change.