Adobe announces Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 with dozens of new features

Sep 21, 2011 15:41 GMT  ·  By

Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced Adobe Flash Player 11 and Adobe AIR 3, the platforms that will reportedly enable the next generation of immersive application experiences across an array of platforms, including Apple’s iOS and Mac OS.

Adobe has confirmed that both Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 offer dozens of new features including, accelerated 2D/3D graphics, AIR-native extensions, captive runtime, content protection, HD video quality across platforms, rental and subscriptions support, 64-bit support on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux, and more.

These features will allow developers, such as those enrolled with Apple's $99 program, to deliver a new class of gaming and premium video experiences, said Adobe.

The new abilities available with Flash 11 and the new AIR version will enable sophisticated, data-driven applications with back-end systems integration across multiple platforms.

Specifically, Adobe says that AIR native extensions will add support for unique device features and native code libraries.

This eventually translates into a free choice of the right mix of Flash, HTML5 and native code to ultimately create the desired user experience across all devices, both desktop-bound, and portable.

“With this milestone release Adobe pushes the envelope of what is possible on the Web with a typical PC and opens up a new world of immersive, high-performance gaming experiences,” said Danny Winokur, vice president and general manager of Platform, Adobe.

“Flash offers the best way for content owners to deliver their most demanding experiences, including games, premium video and sophisticated data-driven apps, to all of their users, while HTML 5 tools such as Adobe Edge and Dreamweaver are ideal for building interactive Web pages, rich ads, branded microsites and general-purpose mobile applications,” added Winokur.

Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 will be available early next month. The company’s open source framework for building apps, Flash Builder and Flex, will be updated soon to offer support for the new features.