Day one of Google I/O was dominated by Jelly Bean and a couple of days on, the Android community is having fun getting to grips with the latest iteration of the Android OS. The latest discovery is that Android 4.1 isn't Flash friendly.
Back in November, Adobe revealed its plans to focus on Flash for the PC and mobile applications packaged with Adobe AIR. Part of this shift in focus involved the discontinuation of development of Flash Player for mobile browsers. Now it seems the end is nigh for the Flash plugin for Android.
Adobe yesterday announced that Flash Player is not certified for use with Android 4.1 and recommends users with devices running 4.1 uninstall Flash Player. Further, beginning August 15, the company 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," the company said. "
If you're not among the lucky few using Jelly Bean, you might be wondering what this means for you and your Ice Cream Sandwich (or lower) phone. Adobe says the easiest way to ensure ongoing access to Flash Player on these devices is to use a certified device and ensure that the Flash Player is either pre-installed by the manufacturer or installed from Google Play store before August 15.
Will it be worth giving up Flash for Android 4.1? Read this: The 9 New Features Coming in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean