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Abobe CS5 To Export Flash As iPhone Apps

Alex Wiltshire's picture

By Alex Wiltshire

October 6, 2009

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The forthcoming new version of Flash Professional will allow developers to create iPhone and iPod Touch apps using ActionScript 3.

Developers using the hugely popular Flash development platform will have the option to export their projects as code that natively supports iPhone and iPod Touch’s ARM processor. It will be available as part of a beta of CS5, which will begin at a currently unspecified date later in the year.

Many Flash game developers have been porting their projects to iPhone, so this new feature will make that process much easier. It will also open iPhone development up to the large community of Flash developers that populate such sites as Newgrounds and Kongregate. Apple recently announced that the App Store is home to 85,000 apps – with Flash development support it’s likely to grow even faster.

This development will not affect the fact that iPhone does not currently support Flash itself, and developers will still need to be signed up to Apple’s iPhone Developer Program to test their apps and submit to the App Store.

This new feature extends still further Flash's potential as a games platform, giving developer access to multiple platforms: for browsers through Flash Player, for iPhone and for Abobe AIR, which Abobe has also announced will be soon available for a variety of devices and platforms including Google’s Android, Blackberry, Symbian, Palm and Windows Mobile.

zerobob's picture
On October 6th zerobob said:

I hear you. I am a freelance web designer and use photoshop extensively. I'm currently still using the CS3 suite as a just don't have the time to constantly upgrade my version of the Adobe suite and learn new interface layouts.

I don't view any of the new features in CS4 as essential as far as my usage goes, and if this is the biggest reason to get CS5 (iPhone apps using Action Script 3) I don't think I'll upgrade to this either. Not for a while at least.

On a side note, why the fairly sudden madness over iPhone apps? There have been phones around for years with powerful and flexible operating systems, such as the Symbian OS.

I was playing the PC version of Doom and Megadrive ROMs (Streets of Rage 2 FTW) on a Nokia smartphone five years ago. I play Age of Empires, Sim City and Worms on my current Windows Mobile PDA.

Now an extensive range of gimmicky puzzle games and primitive 3D games have been released for the iPhone and suddenly everybody realises general phone hardware can be utilised for more than just running shiny animated phone interfaces and web browser software?

I think people need to get a grip when it comes to these iPhone apps. The only good iPhone app I've seen so far is a guitar tuner.

Futurist's picture
On October 6th Futurist said:

It has less to do with the capabilities of the phone than the seamless experience that the iPhone/AppStore provides. It is extremely easy to brows, try and buy games on the iPhone vs. any other mobile platform. All of the games you mention that you play/played on your phones over the years require a certain amount of sophistication in getting to run on you phone. The majority of users won't ever go the lengths you do to get ROMs or a port of Doom up and running on their phone.

Simple. Apple has created a complete marketplace/acquisition platform in a closed system. This is something that no other mobile manufacturer or carrier has replicated.

zerobob's picture
On October 7th zerobob said:

....but is something ANY manufacturer could do, and I can't understand why they don't! It boils my piss to watch, over and over again, people jumping at Apple products. Apple are such a pretentious company in the way they promote their products. Also, it seems Apple have a self-created monopoly on their hands in terms of the way their products force people down certain avenues to buy yet more things from them.

The same applies to iTunes. There are loads of ways to get MP3s. iTunes isn't new in terms of the online music boom. Stick an "i" in front of the brand name though and suddenly you have a winner. Yes, I understand iTunes is integrated with the iPod "experience" and as it insists on organising your music for you, at the same time it offers a convenient way to buy MP3s, or AAC files, but it is yet another example of blinkering customers down a certain sales avenue.

It may seem a silly point by myself; stick an "i" in front of something and it sells, but I don't think this is far from the truth. When it comes to Apple products I think it's 10% technology 90% image, and that's what people buy into. People love their white earbuds and stroking their shiny new iPhones. Sad but true.

I know anybody could say "people can buy what they want" or "don't buy an iPhone/iPod then" to any of my comments, but I may have a little party the day people stop going on about their iPhone like it's something amazing.

Abaculus's picture
On October 6th Abaculus said:

Meant to say, though: this new feature does sound pretty cool. Just could have come in an update rather than a full software upgrade.

Abaculus's picture
On October 6th Abaculus said:

So CS4 has barely been out a year, and already another pricey upgrade looms on the horizon. Even if you don't need the new features, you're compelled to upgrade just to make sure you can open files created in the new version. Almost makes me pine for Microsoft's approach to Windows and MS Office, which is saying something...

99TEARS's picture
On October 6th 99TEARS said:

I totally agree. I've just recently upgraded to the CS4 Master Suite and now I need CS5 for this feature??