Futur developing XD vs Figma

[SuperSuperSuper]

Hello everyone,

I am a regular user of the Adobe XD program and I have noticed that recent updates to the software are not very rich in terms of evolution. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this and if there is a particular reason behind it.

Additionally, I have heard about Adobe's acquisition of Figma and I wonder if this means that Adobe plans to focus on Figma instead of Adobe XD in the future. Does this mean that it's time for XD users to switch to Figma? Or does Adobe plan to continue developing XD in parallel with Figma?

I would be grateful for any information or thoughts you may have on this topic.

Thank you very much!

[Myra Ferguson]

I've read that Adobe's aquisition of Figma might get blocked. Other than that, I haven't seen any updates on the acquisition.

[SuperSuperSuper]

Thank you Myra for this information! I think Adobe should communicate with its clients about the evolution of Adobe XD. It would be appreciated to have information from someone working at Adobe.

[Myra Ferguson]

I'm not an Adobe employee, but I suspect that Adobe and Adobe Employees may not be able to discuss details of an aquisition (or future of products affected by an aquisition) until it is either completed or blocked.

[Chris W. Griffith]

Correct. They can't say anything in the public while the process is under way. 

[SuperSuperSuper]

I can understand when an employee cannot communicate. But Adobe announced on September 15th, 2022 about a merger with Figma, and since that date, I have not seen any significant development for Adobe XD. It seems to me that Adobe should provide a roadmap for the merger of Adobe XD and Figma.

[Dan Rodney]

First of all, I am not an Adobe employee and do not speak for them. I have used design apps for decades including Photoshop, ImageReady, Fireworks, Sketch, XD, and Figma so I've seen apps come and go. As a user of XD, Adobe sent me an email which basically said they stopped development of XD but will continue supporting it (which you can tell by the lack of updates).

Adobe can't really provide a roadmap because they can't start working with Figma until the aquisition is approved (if it is) after which the aquisition can be finalized. THEN they can start working with Figma and we'll all get a better idea of what will happen. The goverment takes whatever time they want (they are not fast), so Adobe's hands are tied until then. The way I see it is... XD was already falling behind, and now without updates for so long I don't see XD having a future. Whether Adobe buys it or not, Figma is now the main game in town (followed by Sketch).

[SuperSuperSuper]

Hello Dan! I agree with your analysis and I think it's time to migrate to Figma or Sketch. We may regret that Adobe doesn't communicate with its customers with enough transparency.

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi @SuperSuperSuper ,

Thank you for reaching out, and we understand your concern. Until the acquisition closes, Adobe and Figma will continue to operate as separate companies. Key info: adobe.ly/3BEzZ2n

What’s the plan for XD? Will Figma become part of XD, or will XD be EOL?

We will continue to serve our existing Adobe XD customers. Post-close, we look forward to engaging with the XD and Figma communities to understand ways we could add value. 

Hope it helps.

Thanks

Rishabh

[SuperSuperSuper]

Hi Rishabh,

Thank you for your reply! You inform us that Adobe XD continues to exist. But, I realize that I had the right to several updates of my Adobe products such as Photoshop and that Adobe XD has not had any update for a long time.

Is it possible to answer to the customers of Adobe XD that are the future evolutions of this product or to have a sincerity to say to us that the evolution of the product will not evolve.

I hope that Adobe can understand these customers who have to make choices. Continue with Adobe XD or change universe.

Thank you for your answer.
SuperSuperSuper

[Spas K.]

Before the acquisition was formally announced, the Xd team was working on improving component states, video and library organisation, and some collaboration improvements. But there's no point investing in a product which might become obsolete, so that's why the development is likely on hold.

If the acquisition fails and *if* the development of Xd goes back to full speed, I think that's where the process will continue. I assume the dark interface is next, because the CC interface (which seems to be the source of truth for Xd interface elements as well) got a dark theme, and should make it achievable for Xd as well. After that, nobody knows.

As things are uncertain, Xd will likely keep getting small updates. Whatever happens, Xd will likely continue to exist for long enough to allow a smooth transition if you've committed to using it on projects.

I feel Xd never really got the focus it deserved, except maybe for the first 2-3 years of development. Not sure how long this move has been planned for, but things started feeling slow after component states got released at the end of 2019, which for me was one of the most meaningful updates.

[beibeian]

I completely agree with you. Besides the pay and the community collaboration factor, I truly think XD is an overall more robust and better product, especially for those of us in the Adobe eco-system. 

[WolleSchmolle]

Let's assume the worst case scenario: Adobe XD is no longer being developed. Who will pay for the time that companies now have to invest to create hundreds of files or thousands of screens in a new UX tool? 

[Peter Villevoye]

Hi y'all 🙂

It has been a very long time since I've been here. Actually, I steered away from this XD community in 2020, because XD was (and still is) terribly falling behind tools like Figma. And then we had a thing called COVID, with more versions and speedy updates than we could ever wish. I hope to find you all in good health again.

My thoughts about the future: Sketch is Game Over and if Adobe's acquistion of Figma is official, XD will soon die out. Figma will probably feature a nice import option, just like it already does for Sketch. No worries ! (And trust me: whipping up a Repeat Grid feature is peanuts for Figma.)

Adobe didn't buy just a design tool, they can also tap in to Figma's in-depth knowledge with Electron, the open-source 'engine' behind the scenes, to let webtools like Figma, Miro, and Canva behave as snappy as native applications. They gain vast experience with cloud-based collaboration, an area in which Adobe's tools always failed. Imagine what this can mean to converting their popular tools and services finally into powerful web apps !

And this acquistion feels like a "now or never" chance for Adobe to shake off their decennia-long bad reputation in web and app design tools...

For 20 billion, it can't be a wrong move, and they can't risk to ruin it.