Participant

Question

What is the future of XD after Adobe's failed acquisition of Figma?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
January 4, 2024
10 replies
21917 views

Participant

With Adobe's acquisition of Figma falling through, it's hard to say exactly what the future holds for XD. However, Adobe has been continuously updating XD, and it’s likely they’ll keep improving the tool to remain competitive in the design space. XD has a strong user base, and Adobe may focus on making it more integrated with other Adobe products and enhancing its collaboration features to rival Figma.

While the situation is still evolving, I think XD will continue to be a key player in Adobe’s suite, especially for users already invested in its ecosystem. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond to the challenges ahead!

creative explorer

Community Expert

@ahtisham_4874 unless you are an employee of Adobe, what you said was partially incorrect: Adobe has been continuously updating XD' — this is PARTIAL CORRECT:

As per Adobe: We want to remind you that Adobe XD continues to be in maintenance mode. This means that we’re not investing in ongoing development or shipping new features within the product. We will continue to support existing customers by addressing bugs and updating any security or privacy needs while in maintenance mode.

The key take here is: No new developments or new features.
Please read the official message from Adobe: https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/support/xd.html

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ArtisticCook

Participant

A new version was posted today for XD—version 58. There were bug fixes and minor workflow improvements. Interesting enough why make improvements if its in maintenance.

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Byrdview

Participant

I couldn't agree with you more. Im not very motivated to learn Figma, & there are alternatives out there for photoshop & illustrator, so get it together Adobe. You've lost your UX/UI customers base.

creative explorer

Community Expert

@Byrdview unfortunately the UX community is big on Figma. Many are making the move to Figma...and once Xd is no longer around, you really don't want to be left hanging. Better to learn Figma versus having the 'pants' left around your ankles.

In the time being, you can still use Xd, always have a back-up plan!

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JuurStudio

Participant

Adobe has already lost it's UX crowd and then some. But Figma is only one alternative for XD. I'm rocking Sketch alongside Affinity for a year by now and couldn't be happier I made the switch. Now just keeping Photoshop around just in case.

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DVH_1

Participating Frequently

Once again, Adobe is screwing the very customer that supports them. It's almost illegal that the have a subscription model and then kill a good product like XD and leave the design community without an Adobe alternative within their suite.

creative explorer

Community Expert

@Tan34583873up61 As @Chris W. Griffith has mentioned, 'XD' is in 'Maintenance Mode'...it's been like that since May 2023 I think. I notice they still do updates I guess for security reasons. Someone posted that 'XD' is no longer for new users, and that isn't correct, as my students are still able to download Xd. You just have to wait 24 hours to install it.

Many companies and businesses still use Xd and likely will do so until Xd is finally 'dead'...Figma is pretty decent. Penpot is getting better. But, it's always better to learn more now, sooner than later, because you just never know when Adobe does decide to stop it altogether and not provide any security updates.

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Ken21967388pf0y

Participant

I had been using XD for years and thought it was a great product. But since they've decided to boneyard the tool, I've switched over to Figma. I tried using AI but found that it's incredibly nonintuitive to use. I realize it's power, but it's so hard to use if you are not proficient at it. The learning curve as with photoshop and their other tools is super steep!

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Uncle Jon

Participant

Thanks for keeping this chat going, it is disgusting that Adobe have said nothing, on a quick search this chat comes up first! Come on Adobe, are you not customer focused? Good or bad news, we can take it! But no news is worse.

Chris W. Griffith

Community Expert

In a bloomberg.com article, an unnamed Adobe spokesperson is quoted say that XD is dead.

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Juur

Known Participant

I've never used a specialized UI app myself, since as a solo freelancer I've done all of my site prototypes in Illustrator mostly and it has worked just fine, but perhaps i've been missing out on this and I might need to pick one up in the future with works that require more collaboration. So, yeah, would also like to know for sure what's the deal with XD. Is there any chance Adobe might resurrect it? Or is it indeed absolutely finished? If so, why is the XD app still lingering in the CC app list? Why is there no conclusive answer from Adobe? Intel leaks all the time, how come no Adobe worker is willing to comment on this?

joel246759296dg5

Known Participant

I think this is a very hard decision for Adobe to make. And it will be the best one for all of us when they get there. Either XD will come out of maintenance mode or they will have a reason that something else will emerge.

To me nothing beats a vector app like Adobe Illustrator. However XD has the most amazing prototype mode to make art boards interactive. XD cannot stand up to Illustrator but as a rapid prototyping tool it is incredibly fast, efficient and easy to use with some practice.

Kudos to you for creating UX artifacts in .ai. I did that as well before I used XD, Sketch, UX PIN, Axure, Proto io, and Sigma and others. Illustrator and Photoshop will always be essential needs to me to get the job done but a prototyping tool like XD brings that efficient and real interactive quality to life that we need to understand how a user would perceive a product.

Bartosz Gołębiowski

Participating Frequently

That's why I still do not understand why they gave up on Fireworks.
Fireworks had all checkboxes checked:
- prototyping features,
- vector tools,
- raster tools,
- graphic optimization tools - much better than those in Photoshop.
If only Adobe gave Fireworks a chance to shine, but they did not know how to make it shine.

ellices63621269

Participating Frequently

I think this is a fair question to ask and get an official answer. XD is part of the Adobe family. It works with other Adobe products and brings shared value to the Adobe family.

If the Adobe family is broken, the value of other staple products like Photoshop and Illustrator are diminished. If I am going to have to start using a third party prototyping tool, I might consider using a Photoshop and Illustrator alternative too since the programs will be more scattered across brands.

Sure, XD needs some work, but I think it is worth it. I don't really care for Adobe putting my monthy fee to AI as I find creating art fun and do not want to outsource the fun to AI. I'd prefer my fees go to XD.

I opened up the Figma website the other day and was considering trying it out for my next UI project, but I just don't trust them in stability. I suppose since Adobe has been around longer, it seems more worthwhile to to stick with XD. I am also considering other tools too. It is confusing because the tools will always change, but man, is it difficult to go into an interview and not be sure which UI/UX tool will be required for the job. If I put time into learning another tool, how long will that one last? I'd prefer the creative challenge of laying out a page, than the technical challenge of learning a different software ecosystem.

joel246759296dg5

Known Participant

Such an interesting perspective. I was playing around with Adobe's AI the other day and I couldn't get it to create even close to what I was asking. It was cool and all. Which led me to believe it is cute out of the can "art" or designs but I truly would want to tackle it myself because I would enjoy it and I could make what I was actually seeking.

I would like to think Adobe is thinking about XD and whether or not to build the team up again. Or, they must have something up their sleeve. Unless the XD users all just drop like flies all of sudden but I just know in my heart some of us are still here. Why abandon such a developed product at this point? I imagine they are watching the #s of users that are still using it.

Also, it is a hard sell to purchase CC and Figma. My company is prepped to do it for me and our team but honestly I don't want that. 5 products that really work together like Illustrator, Photoshop, XD, InDesign and Adobe Type make my day more efficient and delightful. Not sure if Figma can handle it. Sketch was messy, and that battle lost at several companies I was at.

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Byrdview

Participant

@joel246759296dg5 I was just chatting with adobe support and they said

"

here is no word regarding XD discontinuation. XD is one of the most popular platforms for UI/UX

All the users will be informed well in time, if there is ever a move to discontinue XD.

Rest assured XD is here to stay...

Then....

"XD is in maintenance mode, meaning that the engineering team is not actively working on it. But team will continue to push security updates. It does not mean that the support for the product has ended"...

Then:

"There is no official documentation for XD discontinuation. Only rumors in the community because they think that maintenance mode is equivalent to EOL. Even our team has not received any update. As soon as there is an update from the management team, all the users will be informed about the same."

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histerica

Participant

SaaS tech marketer here - I've sold against adobe, so pretty familiar with their tactics. They'll fill the hole somehow - I'd put money on it. ROI is in platform sales and if they start making the platform smaller - perceived value will plummet - its hard enough to convince an exec to pay for CC today - it will hurt their base. I am just dying to know how!

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Uncle Jon

Participant

Adobe dropped Flash as soon as Apple did not support it because of security risks, it was amazing in its time and we used it for everything. Even though it was left for dead it was still resurrected and I use Animate today. I remember when it was Macromedia, there is a large corporation behind all this making decisions based on money, it is not a room full of artists making software for artists. What they need to do is communicate to their customers so we can all move on.

joel246759296dg5

Known Participant

I love Animate as a purely animation tool. I was never fond of the AS, but what they did with it is way more usable and pretty darn slick. html5 canvas? Communication with users or may rephrase that UX Designers.... We could all make the best prototyping and product delivery tool available... We are listening #Adobe and #AdobeXD

Chris W. Griffith

Community Expert

This question has been asked multiple times in this forum. XD remains in maintance mode, and with all likehood stay that way. The product management team has moved on to other efforts in Adobe or left. You need to transition you work to another solution.