While some features of HTML 5 are often compared to Adobe Flash, the two technologies are very different. Both include features for playing audio and video within web pages, and for using Scalable Vector Graphics. However, HTML 5 on its own cannot be used for animation or interactivity – it must be supplemented with CSS3 or JavaScript. There are many Flash capabilities that have no direct counterpart in HTML 5 (see Comparison of HTML5 and Flash). HTML 5's interactive capabilities became a topic of mainstream media attention around April 2010[20][21][22][23] after Apple Inc.'s then-CEO Steve Jobs issued a public letter titled "Thoughts on Flash" in which he concluded that "Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content" and that "new open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win".[24] This sparked a debate in web development circles suggesting that, while HTML 5 provides enhanced functionality, developers must consider the varying browser support of the different parts of the standard as well as other functionality differences between HTML 5 and Flash.[25] In early November 2011, Adobe announced that it would discontinue development of Flash for mobile devices and reorient its efforts in developing tools using HTML 5.[26] On July 25, 2017, Adobe announced that both the distribution and support of Flash will cease by the end of 2020.[27]
