Chrome web browser has released version 55 ahead of schedule, and what it does is to make HTML5 the main key of attraction and to put another nail in the coffin for Flash. The original plan can be traced back to May 2016, but It was first announced by Google in August.
Google has been phasing out Flash support on Chrome starting September when version 53 of the browser started blocking Flash-based page analytics and background elements. Version 54 brought a YouTube code rewrite that forced YouTube Flash players to switch to HTML5.
Later on, the search giant said that Chrome 55 would default to HTML5 for video instead of relying of Flash. This effectively blocks Adobe's web plugins from running on most websites rendered in Chrome.
But in the more recent times, Google adjusted the plan to avoid too many annoying prompts to enable Flash. So instead of using a whitelist, Google plans to determine whether or not to allow Flash with a metric called Site Engagement. This metric is populated based on the browsing habits of each individual user.
So here Google is playing safe: instead of constantly prompting users to enable the Adobe plugin, Flash will just plain work on websites that the user visits frequently. On the other hand, websites that the user rarely visit will prompt the user to enable Flash.
Choices will stick if the user visits those sites again.
Flash has been a useful tool for allowing web users to view animations and such during the early days of the web. However, as HTML5 technologies emerge, its usefulness has been surpassed. HTML5 is seen to have better efficiency, more secure and less prone to crashes.
Although Chrome is becoming even more aggressive against Flash, the technology isn't dead and won't be anytime soon. There are still a lot of websites that run and depend on Flash. But with another major player in the internet trying to avoid Flash, it's another stop that help phase out the plugin.
The end of Flash is an effort that other browsers are also making, including Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari. They all argued that the elimination of Adobe's once-dominant media player will result in longer battery life, faster page rendering and improved security.
Apple's Safari was one of the firsts, beating Chrome to the no-Flash milestone when it shipped Safari 10 with macOS Sierra in September. Apple defaults Safari to HTML5 and alerts users of a Flash-only website with a message that they need to download or activate the plugin. Microsoft's Edge also has blocked some Flash content in the version bundled with the summer's Anniversary Update. And Mozilla is catching up a bit late behind them.
But Google's move on Flash is seen as a more significant move if compared to rivals. Chrome is the world's most popular browser, accounting for 56 percent of all browsers run in November 2016.