Google today announced the launch of Google Swiffy, a new Google Labs effort to produce a tool capable of converting Flash content to HTML5 for display on non-Flash devices such as the iPhone and iPad.

You can upload a SWF file, and Swiffy will produce an HTML5 version which will run in modern browsers with a high level of SVG support such as Chrome and Safari. It’s still an early version, so it won’t convert all Flash content, but it already works well on ads and animations.

Google has posted a small gallery showing examples of Flash content converted to HTML5 by Swiffy.

swiffy symphony orchestra comparison still
Earlier this year, Adobe released its own Flash-to-HTML5 converter known as "Wallaby". Neither Wallaby nor Swiffy is yet able to handle advanced Flash animations for such content complex interactive games, but both companies are obviously looking for ways to make it easy to move Flash content onto non-Flash devices. As Google notes in its Swiffy FAQ, Wallaby is designed to produce editable code by reusing some of the Flash elements in the HTML5 result, while Swiffy's focus is simply on presentation and yields a less-editable final product.

Top Rated Comments

baleensavage Avatar
182 months ago
I shudder to think of the garbage code these automatic converters are going to create. IMHO a much better solution is to have a development environment that is able to output both Flash and HTML5 content rather than a basic converter that takes Flash content and shoehorns it into HTML5 output.

Now if this was an iOS app that could load Flash pages on the fly by converting them to HTML5, that would be another story...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anonymous Freak Avatar
182 months ago
WOW, this is such a great tool, and I can't believe it exists! Now I can make some websites in Flash (in my opinion, a much easier to use tool), and I can most likely easily convert all of it to HTML5. I can't wait to use it!

Please don't.

The vast majority of Flash websites are crap. Even if the ones you create are the exception, don't use an automated tool to do what you should have done in the first place - program in HTML5.

If you're going to make an HTML5 website, take the time to learn to do it properly.

(Note, I have no basis of comparison for your Flash websites, you could very well be one of the people who designs them well, I have seen good Flash website designers. But even the best-made Flash website would suck ass when run through this converter. As Google admits, it works best on small things like ads.)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macUser2007 Avatar
182 months ago
I think you'll find that every modern web browser can handle HTML5 perfectly fine ;)

...
Perfectly fine?!

Take a look at http://html5test.com/results.html

Not even close....

To boot, Apple's Safari's HTML5 support is behind both Firefox and Google.

To boot even more, iOS 4.3's HTML5 support is behind both Android's and WebOS's.

Anyway, I like HTML5, but I also like Flash. They are both useful. Flash can do way more complex animations, however.

The ban on Flash is because Jobs tried to become the mobile Google with iAd. But iAd is failing miserably, so in a year or so I'd imagine iOS will have Flash. Flash sites run perfectly fine on my Google Nexus S, by the way.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
e32boy Avatar
182 months ago
So I converted a 40K swf with this tool.
Ended up being a 400K file and didn't end up looking exactly like the swf file and plays soooooooo slowwwwwww on my iOS devices.

I don't get this anti flash thing.

The more available options the better for all users.
HTML5 and CSS3 can play nice with swf & flv.

SJ's swf ban has more to do with economics of the app store than a better user experience.

at lease now you can block swf ads.
HTML5? nope.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adrianweller Avatar
182 months ago
Adobe have already solved this problem

With PDF!
If you create a document in InDesign, you send it to the printer's as a PDF.
If you create a document in Illustrator, you send it to the printer's as a PDF.
If you create a document in Photoshop, you send it to the printer's as a PDF.
If you create a document in Word, you send it to the printer's as a PDF, and they throw it back in your face (there are some things even Adobe can't fix!!).

The point is, different software can create a common file type that is capable of delivering all of the content exactly as intended. The Postscript RIP at the printer's is the equivalent of the HTML 5 browser.

Adobe need to implement a similar solution with Flash on web browsers.
I'm not saying it's easy, but any company that came up with pure genius like postscript, PDF, and the incredible Transparency flattener (for the print-media people out there) can do it!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
winston1236 Avatar
182 months ago
Swiffy? Isn't that the thing you use to sweep your hardwood floors? The swiffy quicky-picker-upper!

no thats swiffer
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple 'Sherlocked' These Apps at WWDC 2025

Wednesday June 11, 2025 7:14 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple. When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 10 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...