There is also the argument by Adobe that Apple is protecting its revenue sources (if Flash were allowed on iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch then more people would play Flash games and applications rather than buying apps from Apple’s App Store for iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad.

Also Apple lost a platform war for desktop PC market share to Microsoft. If applications are developed in the open HTML 5 format this also levels the playing field between Apple’s Mac OS and Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Microsoft would no longer enjoy the benefits of a much larger market share to attract developers to its platform. HTML5 obviously also moves value away from PCs where MSFT rules and into the cloud where Google rules. So HTML5 hurts Microsoft dearly. This is why Microsoft is dragging its feet with HTML5 support for Internet Explorer. As an aside, this is also why we’re experiencing a second browser war after MSFT had already won. Firefox, Safari, and Chrome are accelerating the move into the cloud with JavaScript, CSS and HTML improvements while Internet Explorer is slowing it down with its lengthy upgrade cycles (IE6 still enjoys a 20% share almost 5 years after IE7 was launched!) and slow adoption of new web standards.

Sure HTML 5 gives Google some cloud based advantages but it helps Apple neutralize very important disadvantages.

Of course this begs the question that couldn’t HTML 5 based web apps hurt Apple’s App Store: Well HTML 5 is still a very new format and it would take a while for interest in native apps to die if ever (and for native apps to lose dominance to web apps) giving Apple ample time to innovate and find other ways to differentiate its devices. Standards are good, but their deployment process is slow. There is still a debate on what video format HTML5 will support, as an example. These delays enable device manufacturers to innovate beyond the standard and launch additional proprietary features and APIs to differentiate their platforms.