HARMAN has assumed the responsibility for developing and supporting the Adobe AIR SDK, a cross-platform framework widely utilized for creating various applications and games. This framework enables rapid development, including animations created via Adobe Animate, and supports the deployment of applications on both desktop and mobile platforms.

A new approach for continued support

Adobe’s support for AIR ended in late 2020. Since then, HARMAN has entered into an agreement to take on the support and maintenance of the runtime and SDK. While Adobe provided AIR for free due to revenue from commercial tools, HARMAN is now offering the SDK as a commercially licensed software package with a free tier to support hobbyists and low-income users. HARMAN’s work on AIR is directly funded by these licenses, ensuring the framework remains a useful and competitive tool for rapid cross-platform application development.

Platforms, features, and long-term plans

HARMAN has released a version to support several PC and mobile platforms. Other focuses of upcoming versions include fixing bugs, adding new features, and maintaining runtimes. The priorities for new features and bug fixes are driven by the AIR developer community to improve the application's stability, performance, and functionality.

Cross-Platform Development and Deployment

The AIR SDK allows developers to create applications on a variety of desktop platforms. This flexibility lets them build applications tailored to a specific host platform or create universal .air installers that work with the shared AIR runtime. For mobile development, the framework supports the two major mobile operating systems, with new capabilities for building 64-bit targets and using the latest app bundling standards.

To create an application for one of these mobile systems, developers need to use the AIR SDK on a desktop device that can run it, while packages for the other system can be generated from any supported SDK. However, the development has shifted to focus on 64-bit support. While some older projects may still function, newer versions of the SDK no longer support creating 32-bit applications for certain devices.

Looking to the future of AIR

By taking over the development and maintenance of Adobe AIR, HARMAN aims to ensure its continued growth as a valuable framework for developers. The company's focus on community-driven development, combined with a flexible licensing model and new platform support, positions AIR for an expanded role in the creation of stable and high-performance cross-platform applications.