Perhaps the worst kept secret in the tech world is just how badly Apple and Adobe despise one another. Further evidence of what many consider to be mutual disdain was on display Thursday morning as Steve Jobs let loose with a biting commentary about Adobe and why Flash is a thing of the past.
Admitting that Apple and Adobe have “grown apart” with both companies now sharing “few joint interests,” Steve Jobs jabbed at Adobe saying that “Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content.” On top of the sweeping, general barbs, Apple’s chief also delivered a multifaceted criticism of Adobe, referencing issues related to third-party development, security, mobile device battery life, reliability, and openness.
Perhaps most insulting to Adobe, however, is the continued inference that “sub-standard apps” would result from converting Flash applications to any of Apple’s popular mobile devices.
New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.
Following Steve Jobs’ published letter, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen spoke with the Wall Street Journal and called Jobs’ comments “amusing” and largely dismissed them. “We have different views of the world,” Narayan told the WSJ. “Our view of the world is multi-platform.”
