SAN JOSE, CALIF.—Adobe is giving its Flash multimedia graphics animation software an overhaul and a new identity. The company announced this week that Flash will become Animate CC, a complete rewrite that incorporates the “native HTML5 Canvas and Web GL Support,” according to Adobe’s blog. Animate CC is slated to be released next month.
The move comes at a time when Flash is in decline, in part because it’s not supported on smartphones, according to The Verge. Flash players also download like a box of rocks, crash Firefox, and are everywhere, making for a hack portal so exploited Mozilla briefly blocked it last July, according to PC World.
Adobe itself acknowledged that more than one-third of content created with Flash uses HTML5 and reaches more than “1 billion devices.”HTML5 complies with Interactive Advertising Bureau standards, Adobe further notes, and is used by Nickelodeon and Los Angeles animation house, Titmouse, Inc.
Animate CC will become available for install, update and in the Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe said it would continue supporting Flash, and that previous versions would remain available. The Verge said the main focus of Adobe’s support would be on security.
Adobe’s blog has further information on the transition.
