Since the iPhone first came out there were many conversations around the web about why Apple refuse to support the Flash player.
Most keep explaining Steve Jobs need for perfection and the fact that the Flash player can eat the already fragile iPhone battery life quite fast.
But while thinking about it today I thought that the real reason for Apple refusal is completely different.
The day Apple will introduce a Flash player on the iPhone they will also introduce something else – Flash games and applications. Right not in order to develop and run an application on the iPhone, developers need to learn and write code in Objective C. These applications are not cross platform, meaning that an application developed for the iPhone can’t be run on an Android or Nokia phone.
By not providing a cross platform option and as the main platform for application developers, Apple succeeded in creating a huge community of developers dedicated to the iPhone platform. Many will say that the number of applications on the Apple App Store is the number one advantage Apple has on Andorid and the Palm Pre.
But if suddenly developers will be able to develop their app just once using Flash and then run the same app (or with small modifications) on other platforms as well, Apple will lose its grip on the App Store. Also don’t forget that there are probably many more developers and designers who know Flash development than ones who know specific iPhone development.

So is this the main reason Apple is blocking Flash from the iPhone? Does Steve wait for the very last minute where competition with other phones will dictate the introduction of Flash on the iPhone? What do you think?

* Quick note: I’m sure some people will say that Apple can install a Flash player on the iPhone but block it from the iPhone SDK. But note two things:
1. History shows that developers and hackers will always find a way to go behind Apple and find a way to use the Flash player. And if too many hacked iPhones will be able to run Flash applications, it will put more pressure on Apple to allow it also in the official applications.
2. The main use of the Flash player will be embedded in the Safari browser. The iPhone SDK allows you to embed and use Safari inside your apps, basically allowing developers to gain access to Flash.

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